NEW DELHI, AUG 6
Cornered Commonwealth Games Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi today refused to step down despite wide-scale corruption allegations against OC, insisting that he might consider such a move only after the event if asked to by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
“I am not thinking about resigning. The investigation is on. I am not quitting. We are doing a great job”, Kalmadi told reporters at the OC headquarters while unveiling the medals for the October 3 to 14 event here.
In an interview to a TV channel earlier in the day, Kalmadi had hinted at resigning if asked by the Prime Minister, Congress President Sonia Gandhi or the Indian Olympic Association, which he heads.
But Kalmadi said such a possibility existed only after the Games.
“There is no question of it. Post the Games, if Mrs Gandhi and Manmohan Singh and IOA want me to quit then only I would quit. Everything is going fine. The whole team is working day and night to make the Games a success”, he insisted.
The corruption allegations began with a Central Vigilance Commission report which pointed out financial bunglings in handing of construction and other contracts.
Kalmadi faced more embarrassment when he made public ‘doctored’ e-mails from the Indian High Commission to justify payments worth lakhs of pounds to a UK-based company for services provided during the Queen’s Baton Relay in London.
Organising Committee’s Joint Director General T S Darbari, who oversaw the QBR’s London leg, was suspended after the furore.
A three-member probe panel is currently investigating the matter after the Ministry of External Affairs revealed that the e-mails were ‘doctored’ to add the UK-based A M Films name as a recommended company for car rentals and other services.
Despite the damaging allegations, Kalmadi said, “We are doing a great job.”
“The CVC report has come and technical officials have given a preliminary report and it is true that some of the stadiums are still to be ready and (Mike) Fennell (Commonwealth Games Federation chief) has also made some observations about that. There is concern but while we are taking over stadiums, we are making sure that things are alright”, he said.
“In case they are not, we are asking the handlers to give in writing that they will be ok within a certain span of time”, he added.
