Opposition terms Kalmadi arrest “belated”

The Opposition BJP and the CPI(M) on Monday said the arrest of Suresh Kalmadi, the sacked CWG organising Committee chief, was “belated” and only the “tip of the iceberg.”

The two opposition parties wanted investigating agencies to take stringent action against others involved in the Commonwealth Games scam.

“This (arrest) is only the tip of the iceberg, ” BJP president Nitin Gadkari told reporters at Maharashtra BJP office in Mumbai.

“(Mr.) Kalmadi is not the only one. Others have not been arrested. CBI should take stringent action against those involved in the Commonwealth Games scam,” he said.

Echoing Mr. Gadkari’s sentiments, CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat said the “belated action” of Mr. Kalmadi’s arrest hardly brought any confidence and that it was “only the tip of an iceberg.”

Ms. Karat, who is in Kolkata, said the Shunglu Committee and the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had in their reports “implicated the Delhi governments and some departments under central ministers.”

“Therefore, the huge CWG scam is yet another piece of evidence about the corruption which has proliferated under the Manmohan Singh government. The fact that the action is so belated hardly brings any confidence,” she said.

The action required now should really be in the aspects which have been pointed out by the Shunglu panel and the CAG, Karat said, adding that investigations should not be limited to “just in one case, when thousands of crore of rupees is involved. Action should be taken against all those named in the Shunglu report and questions raised by the CAG.”

The CPI(M) Politburo came out with a statement calling Mr. Kalmadi’s arrest “belated” and “much delayed” and demanded that the CBI take steps to lodge cases and prosecute others responsible for the irregularities.

Maintaining that the arrest of the Congress leader “for corruption” associated with the games was welcome though it was “much delayed”, the party said the CBI should forthwith register cases and prosecute “those who were responsible for the expropriation of public funds.”

“Apart from the instances of corruption indulged in by the organising committee of the CWG, there is large scale misuse of funds for the games by other agencies and authorities in the Delhi Government and the Central Government. Some of these have been enquired into by the Shunglu Committee,” it added.

BJP’s Pune unit chief and MLA Girish Bapat demanded resignation of Mr. Kalmadi who is an MP from the city.

“CBI would not have arrested (Mr.) Kalmadi unless it had certain proof against him in the CWG scam”, he added.

Shiv Sena MLC and spokesperson Neelam Gorhe said the “big fish” behind Mr. Kalmadi should also be traced and booked. Pune’s prestige had taken a beating with the arrest of Mr. Kalmadi who represents the city in the Parliament, she added.

curtsy-The Hindu