Suresh Kalmadi hits back, says Sheila Dikshit should look at her own departments

Embattled organising committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi today hit back at the Delhi chief minister Shiela Dikshit, saying her aspersions on corruption in the OC were "most disappointing and uncalled for" and that she must indulge in self-reflection on corruption in her own departments.

In a hard-hitting statement a day after Dikshit pointed fingers on the OC for alleged corruption, Kalmadi said that keeping quiet should not be interpreted as a sign of weakness and the OC would not want to be the "scapegoats" any more.

"Delhi chief minister Mrs. Shiela Dikshit’s aspersions on corruption in the organising committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi are most disappointing and uncalled for. It is not right to deflect and point fingers at others when she must indulge in self-reflection on corruption in her own departments," Kalmadi said.

"She has 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," said Kalmadi, who finds himself increasingly isolated within his own Congress Party after being snubbed by the prime minister and party president Sonia Gandhi. Both did not invite Kalmadi while felicitating the Commonwealth Games medal winners.

Kalmadi said that 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 at a budget of Rs1620 crore but also the Rs16,000 spent by the Delhi government.

"Despite a series of attacks in the run up 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," Kalmadi said.

Kalmadi said that transparency and accountability remain the watch words in the organising committee. "We are confident that the guilty will not be spared irrespective of which agency they belong to," he said.

"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 4000 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," Kalmadi said.

Kalmadi pointed out that in 2005, the overall scheme of preparation for the Games had been laid down by the government.

He said as per the scheme the sports infrastructure was to be developed by Government agencies and funded directly by the Government while the development, upgradation and improvement of the city infrastructure were to be done by the government of Delhi with the support of the Government of India.

"The responsibility for the Conduct and delivery of the Games is of the organising committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi," Kalmadi said.

"I am proud that the world has declared that conduct of the Games was faultless, with all competitions being held as per schedule. A massive amount of work was done in planning and preparing for the Games by innumerable people under the guidance of the IOA and NSFs.

"The execution of these plans was impeccable. It led organising committee to deliver spectacular opening and closing ceremonies that were overseen by the Group of Ministers," he said.

Kalmadi also criticised Dikshit 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, co-ordinated the work of a number of agencies to ensure that it was entirely ready to welcome the athletes," he said.

Kalmadi said the OC was constantly being criticised for delays and shoddy work when they were not at all involved in any construction activity.

"Unmindful, we kept defending the venues and infrastructure and reassured the Games Family that everything would be ready in time for the Games.

"When the foot overbridge near the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium collapsed, it led to doubts about the safety of the people. Reports of delays in getting the city ready also caused many teams to believe that Games could not be held. We had to do a lot of hand-holding and cajoling to ensure that the full complement of 71 nations and territories took part in the Games," he said.

Kalmadi, who is also the IOA chief, said that all decisions in the OC were made by the executive board, which includes two representatives each of the central and Delhi governments.

"The prime minister's office deputed a number of government officers, including the CEO Mr, Jarnail Singh, to work with the Organising Committee," he said.