BJP slams UPA for 'irregularities' in Commonwealth Games preparation

Slamming the UPA for various  "irregularities" in preparations for the Commonwealth Games,  the Opposition today demanded setting up of a Joint Parliamentary Committee or a CBI probe into the scam, a charge rubbished by the Congress.

Kirti Azad (BJP), who initiated the debate in Lok Sabha on  situation arising out of delay in preparation for Commonwealth
Games, referred to the recommendations of the Central  Vigilance Commission and said several government departments  have been charged with irregularities.

He criticised various departments for cost escalations to the tune of 513%.

Azad said despite setting up of an empowered committee on  January 29, 2005 to oversee the preparations, several  irregularities have come to the notice.

"Is the committee ignorant of the corruption or has it  preferred to turn a blind eye...who is responsible?" he asked. 

Azad said then Union HRD minister Arjun Singh had chaired
a group of ministers which decided that an apex committee under the sports minister would oversee preparations for the games and would be kept informed of major decisions taken on the international sporting event.

Sports minister MS Gill, who was present, was described by Azad as 'Dronacharya'.

Amid peals of laughter, the BJP member referred to finance
minister Pranab Mukherjee as 'Kripacharya' and the Delhi  government as 'Gandhari'. He also described the group of
secretaries for game preparation headed by the cabinet
secretary as 'Shakuni'.
 
He said said while a new cricket stadium in Nagpur cost Rs 90 crore, renovation of the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium was carried out at Rs 961 crore. He wondered whether gold, silver and diamonds have been used for renovation.

Azad invited "adarniya (respected) Japial Uncle" (Union urban development minister Jaipal Reddy) to Nagpur to have a look at the new stadium. "I will take you there if the government does not sponsor your tour," he said.

Rejecting the opposition's charges, Manish Tewari (Cong) said the CVC recommendations were preliminary in nature and could not be termed as final report.

He played down the controversy surrounding the Queen's Baton Relay saying expenditure on the event was 0.07% of the total budget of the Organising Committee for the games.

He said 840 players, 185 coaches and 78 officials have been trained for the event.

"In the midst of allegations and counter allegations, truth has been lost," he said, referring to the allegations made by the opposition parties.

Azad earlier claimed that the cycling velodrome was constructed using concrete whereas it should have been made with wood.

He said players have been denied the opportunity of practicing in stadia before the event as most of them were not ready so far.

Gill intervened to say that international test events have taken place in some of the stadia.

Sharad Yadav (JD-U) said, "This (management of Commonwealth Games 2010) is no longer in the hands of either Central or Delhi government."

Yadav demanded that an inquiry should be initiated immediately into charges of corruption against the ogranising committee managing the mega event as the case would be diluted
once the games are over.

He asked the government to give the authentic information about the expenditure on the games and revenue expected to be generated from it.

Yadav said according to a tourism department report total expenditure on the games would be close to Rs 87,000 crore
which would be higher than the Rs 50,000 crore budget of
forthcoming London Olympics.

At this, Gill clarified that Delhi government would be spending Rs 16,500 crore while Union sports ministry's budget for the games was estimated at Rs 11,498 crore.