CWG scam: IT officials raid BJP leader office

Income Tax (IT) officials reportedly raided office of a senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader over the Commonwealth Games (CWG) scam, even as the party on Tuesday pointed finger at the Prime Minister?s Office (PMO) and demanded probe into all corruption charges.

According to latest reports, IT officials are raiding 30 locations across Delhi, Ludhiana and Chandigarh.

On Tuesday, BJP leader Sudhanshu Mittal?s office was raided regarding Rs 200 crore contract he received for providing for treadmills, chairs and umbrellas at the Games.

Mittal cracked the deal via his nephew Vinay?s company Deepali Design and Exhibits and its foreign partner.

On Monday, offices of CWG Organising Committee, including the ones headed by Suresh Kalmadi, were raided by the IT department.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the BJP demanded every project of the Commonwealth Games, where corruption charges were brought, should be probed by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC).

?Everything should be probed by the JPC and all ministers should be probed,? BJP president Nitin Gadkari told a press conference here, taking the ruling government head-on.

?People were looted. We kept quiet in the interest of the country during the Games, but now there should be a probe,? he said, a day after the Comptroller and Auditor General of India said their audit report would be presented in three months’ time.

On Monday, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India will submit its audit report on the recently concluded Commonwealth Games (CWG) within three months, said a top official.

?It?s very important that the audit has some practical utility. While auditing, we will not only try to see if the expenditures were incurred correctly, but, will also evaluate if the actual purpose has been fulfilled,? CAG chief Vinod Rai said.

He further said: ?We will also see if there has been the optimal utilization of the funds; what we call, value-for-money.?

?It will be a very comprehensive audit where all aspects and institutions of the Games will be evaluated. It will give a very practical orientation to all processes.?

?The audit report will be very confidential and only be shared with the Parliament,? the CAG chief added.

Earlier, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had hinted at corruption in the CWG Organising Committee, which was headed by Suresh Kalmadi, and said no one should get away with it.

While the Games concluded successfully and without any untoward incident and the foreign guests departed with a feel-good taste of Indian culture and hospitality, the shame the country was subjected to ahead of the Games was not forgotten with much of the finger pointing towards Kalmadi for the glitches.