Kalmadi fires back at Sheila

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Hitting back at Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi on Sunday stated that the Delhi CM casting aspersions of corruption in the OC were “most disappointing and uncalled for” and that she must indulge in self-reflection on corruption in her own departments.
Mr Kalmadi’s statement comes a day after Ms Dikshit pointed fingers at the OC for alleged corruption. Mr Kalmadi also pointed out, “Keeping quiet should not be interpreted as a sign of weakness, the OC would not want to be the scapegoats any more.”
The OC chairman added, “The Delhi CM shockingly said that the ways of the OC are mysterious whereas the Commonwealth Games chief, Mr Michael Fennell, declared the conduct of the Games as exceptional and successful.”
Mr Kalmadi finds himself growing increasingly isolated within the Congress party after being snubbed by the Prime Minister and party president Sonia Gandhi: neither invited Mr Kalmadi while felicitating Commonwealth Games medal winners.
Mr Kalmadi said the OC has already welcomed the Prime Minister’s decision to set up a probe panel and hoped that the terms of reference of the Shunglu Committee will include not just the scope of work undertaken by the OC in a budget of `1,620 crores but also the money spent by the Delhi government. “Despite a series of attacks in the runup to the Games, I was quiet as I wanted the Games to succeed. Keeping quiet should not be interpreted as a sign of weakness. Nor should patience be seen as a sign of guilt. It was more important to focus on the task of conducting the Games well,” Mr Kalmadi said.
The OC chief said transparency and accountability remain the watchwords in the organising committee. “We are confident that the guilty will not be spared irrespective of which agency they belong to,” he added. “National pride was at stake and I didn’t want that to be affected. Our challenge was to keep the morale of our workforce of over 4,000 high. We succeeded in doing that and ensuring the smooth delivery of the largest ever Games. But, on Dussehra day, I owe it to the organising committee that we speak out. We don’t want to be the scapegoats anymore,” Mr Kalmadi said.
He also criticised the Delhi CM for taking credit for getting the Games village ready in time. “The Games have succeeded because of the efforts of Team India, including a large number of people and agencies, and not any individual. Dikshit’s attempt to take credit for getting the Games village ready in time does not fit with the team concept. The lieutenant-governor of Delhi and the OC, who were preparing the Village for over two years, coordinated the work of a number of agencies to ensure that it was entirely ready to welcome the athletes,” said Mr Kalmadi.