Updated on Tuesday, August 10, 2010, 10:02
Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: Apparently voicing the discomfort within the Congress over the corruption scandal surrounding the Commonwealth Games, senior Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh has opined that Suresh Kalmadi should resign as chairman of the organising committee if found guilty in the ongoing probe into irregularities in the CWG funds utilisation.
''We are not demanding anything as the probe is on but only if he is found guilty, the resignation should be the logical outcome,'' Singh told reporters in Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh late Monday.
He said a lot had been said with regard to CWG funds and everyone should wait for the result of the probe before jumping to any conclusion. 'We should not forget that organising hassle-free Games is prestigious for the country and should look forward to it in a positive frame of mind,'' he added.
Digvijaya Singh’s comment – after Mani Shankar’s open attack - comes at a time when there are reports that Suresh Kalmadi has sought support from his party MPs.
In a letter sent to all Congress MPs, Kalmadi has reiterated his openness to a judicial probe or by the CAG.
But clearly, Digvijaya’s pointed intervention on the contentious issue has given rise to speculations that the Congress top brass irked with Suresh Kalmadi, IOA chief of 14 years, especially after the opposition took the dealings of the CWG 2010 in the Lok Sabha debate yesterday.
After a pounding by the opposition, which demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee to go into allegations of corruption in Delhi Games, government had said that irregularities would be inquired into "exhaustively" and the corrupt would be pursued till the "end of the earth".
Sports Minister MS Gill is set to reply to the Lok Sabha debate today. The government has already found itself on the back foot with key ally Trinamool Congress calling for a statement from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue.
UPA also appealed to parties, cutting across lines, to ensure that the games are held successfully.
"I don't say that corruption has not taken place. No one can say that. All irregularities will be inquired into exhaustively," said Urban Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy in a spirited intervention during a debate on the games in Lok Sabha.
There are, I think, two aspects in this case. First, a lot of allegations of corruption are floating around. Unless the courts take cognizance of them, how can anyone be held guilty? Even charge sheets have not been filed against anybody. Kalmadi's critiques are asking him to resign only on moral grounds. Kalmadi may well have his own criterion as to what constitutes morality on this issue. For him, it may well be that running away from battle-field when the battle is about to begin is immoral.
The other aspect is the role those who have placed Kalmadi in the crucial post have to play. With so many charges flying around, with even the Queen being "coldly miffed" about the affair (though I personally do not believe it - it is likely to be an imagined scoop by London's famous yellow journalists), should the impression go out that Kalmadi is irreplaceable? When Satyam Infotech bubble burst, was not an alternate arrangement put in place successfully and quick enough? Of course, it would be pleaded that in the case of the CWG we do not have the luxury of time. Nevertheless, going into the games with a tainted (maybe unfairly, but images matter in these things) person at the top is disgraceful. Someone with a squeaky image and with proven capacity should be brought to the helm so that, at least when commentators all over the world report on the opening ceremony onwards, they would not have occasion to remind the world that the Games is being run with a man of questionable character at the top. Is this asking for the sky?
http://www.zeenews.com/news647162.html
Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: Apparently voicing the discomfort within the Congress over the corruption scandal surrounding the Commonwealth Games, senior Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh has opined that Suresh Kalmadi should resign as chairman of the organising committee if found guilty in the ongoing probe into irregularities in the CWG funds utilisation.
''We are not demanding anything as the probe is on but only if he is found guilty, the resignation should be the logical outcome,'' Singh told reporters in Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh late Monday.
He said a lot had been said with regard to CWG funds and everyone should wait for the result of the probe before jumping to any conclusion. 'We should not forget that organising hassle-free Games is prestigious for the country and should look forward to it in a positive frame of mind,'' he added.
Digvijaya Singh’s comment – after Mani Shankar’s open attack - comes at a time when there are reports that Suresh Kalmadi has sought support from his party MPs.
In a letter sent to all Congress MPs, Kalmadi has reiterated his openness to a judicial probe or by the CAG.
But clearly, Digvijaya’s pointed intervention on the contentious issue has given rise to speculations that the Congress top brass irked with Suresh Kalmadi, IOA chief of 14 years, especially after the opposition took the dealings of the CWG 2010 in the Lok Sabha debate yesterday.
After a pounding by the opposition, which demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee to go into allegations of corruption in Delhi Games, government had said that irregularities would be inquired into "exhaustively" and the corrupt would be pursued till the "end of the earth".
Sports Minister MS Gill is set to reply to the Lok Sabha debate today. The government has already found itself on the back foot with key ally Trinamool Congress calling for a statement from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue.
UPA also appealed to parties, cutting across lines, to ensure that the games are held successfully.
"I don't say that corruption has not taken place. No one can say that. All irregularities will be inquired into exhaustively," said Urban Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy in a spirited intervention during a debate on the games in Lok Sabha.
There are, I think, two aspects in this case. First, a lot of allegations of corruption are floating around. Unless the courts take cognizance of them, how can anyone be held guilty? Even charge sheets have not been filed against anybody. Kalmadi's critiques are asking him to resign only on moral grounds. Kalmadi may well have his own criterion as to what constitutes morality on this issue. For him, it may well be that running away from battle-field when the battle is about to begin is immoral.
The other aspect is the role those who have placed Kalmadi in the crucial post have to play. With so many charges flying around, with even the Queen being "coldly miffed" about the affair (though I personally do not believe it - it is likely to be an imagined scoop by London's famous yellow journalists), should the impression go out that Kalmadi is irreplaceable? When Satyam Infotech bubble burst, was not an alternate arrangement put in place successfully and quick enough? Of course, it would be pleaded that in the case of the CWG we do not have the luxury of time. Nevertheless, going into the games with a tainted (maybe unfairly, but images matter in these things) person at the top is disgraceful. Someone with a squeaky image and with proven capacity should be brought to the helm so that, at least when commentators all over the world report on the opening ceremony onwards, they would not have occasion to remind the world that the Games is being run with a man of questionable character at the top. Is this asking for the sky?
http://www.zeenews.com/news647162.html
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