‘Kalmadi must come clean’
Commonwealth Games organising committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi has a lot of explaining to do, if the mood in the corridors of South Block is any indicator.
The ministry of external affairs (MEA), headed by Mr S.M. Krishna, is understood to have taken the view that Mr Kalmadi and his colleagues have caused enough d
iplomatic embarrassment already and they should clean up the mess in the wake of the allegations of corruption that have come to associated with the sporting event.
The MEA’s categoric stand has not gone unnoticed in the Prime Minister’s Office, which has to contend not only with continued criticism from Parliament but from within the Congress party too. A section of the party, including a few serving and former Cabinet ministers, tend to believe that the organisation of the Games could become a liability for the party and the government alike if the impression gains ground that the corrupt are being shielded.
Compounding matters for the government is the bad press the organisation of the Games has got in the international media. The MEA has conveyed to Mr Kalmadi that the email, which he has cited to justify payment of a large sum of money to a London-based company, is not authentic; implying therefore that the email might have been manipulated or doctored. Mr Kalmadi had claimed that a junior official posted at the Indian High Commission in London had recommended the company for providing services during the Queen’s baton relay held in London on October 29 last year.
The MEA has dismissed it, saying that neither had the official sent the purported email nor was he authorised to make recommendations.
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