Kalmadi and Bhanot booted out from OC- Jan 25, 2011

Kalmadi and Bhanot booted out from OC

Mahendra Kumar Singh, TNN, Jan 25, 2011, 01.03am IST


NEW DELHI: The government on Monday sacked Suresh Kalmadi and his lieutenant Lalit Bhanot from the Commonwealth Games organizing committee (OC).

Announcing the removal of Kalmadi and Bhanot as chairman and general secretary of the OC, sports minister Ajay Maken said the decision was meant to help the CBI's investigation into alleged corruption in organizing the Games. The minister also said the government had sought the opinion of attorney general Ghulam E Vahanvati on whether Kalmadi could be removed as chairman of the Indian Olympic Association too.

Maken said, "In the light of the concerns expressed by the CBI and in the interest of impartial and unhindered investigations, it has been decided to remove Kalmadi from the position of chairman of the organizing committee and the position of chairman, executive board of the committee, with immediate effect."

The agency had complained to the cabinet secretary that the presence of Kalmadi and Bhanot in the organizing committee was hindering its probe. "Now, there will be no obstacle in the CBI probe," the sports minister said.

Sources in the government, however, said the belated removal may have to do with the political need to dispel any perception that the Manmohan Singh government was not keen on a thorough investigation into the alleged Games corruption.

The CBI's fear that Kalmadi's continuation as the OC boss could obstruct a fair probe is not new. It was almost a month ago that the agency formally had written to the cabinet secretary. Besides, investigations of both the CBI as well as the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) are almost over.

The government has been feeling the need to appear sincere about the probe because of the release on bail of three of Kalmadi's key aides—T S Darbari, Sanjay Mohindroo and K Jeychandren. Accused in the AM Film scam, the trio had to be released on bail as the CBI could not file the chargesheet within the stipulated 60 days.

The agency was handicapped by procedural complexities, such as the requirement to send letter rogatories to the UK, but many in the government feel the release of the accused after their much-publicized arrests could lead to misgivings. Already, a section in the government feels that telecom minister Kapil Sibal could have refrained from claiming that the 2G scam had caused no loss to the government. Last week, the Supreme Court frowned upon Sibal's assertion, saying he should have acted more responsibly, given that a CBI probe into the scam was under way.

Maken's candid statement that Kalmadi, a resourceful Congress MP, was removed to facilitate the CBI inquiry suggests that the minister may have been tasked with ensuring that the government looks firm against corruption.

Just five days into his job, Maken has already reversed Kalmadi's decision to withhold payments of Australian firms engaged by the OC.