The infighting in the 2010 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee on Tuesday took a more acrimonious turn with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Vijay Goel accusing chairman Suresh Kalmadi of "rampant corruption" and seeking Prime Minister's intervention in the matter.
The Commonwealth Games Organisation Committee has sent its point-wise replies to the sports ministry on the Shunglu Committee findings seeking to put the blame on jailed former OC chairman Suresh Kalmadi and other officials for large-scale irregularities.
The Delhi Commonwealth Games corruption probe is gaining steam after the arrest of two former Organising Committee officials but an unfazed OC chairman Suresh Kalmadi on Wednesday said he would give "satisfactory answers" to the government panel investigating the matter.
Mike Fennell, President of the Commonwealth Games Federation, was more than assertive when he held the Organising Committee of the Delhi Commonwealth Games responsible for the mess and delay in building infrastructure for the Games scheduled to be held in New Delhi from October 3-14.
Top Organising Committee officials are visiting the various Commonwealth Games venues to take stock of the preparation and check delays in the construction work.
Commonwealth Games Federation has asked the CWG Organising Committee to furnish report from each of government agencies responsible for delivery of competition venues that they have secured certification from regulatory bodies on fire, health and safety of athletes by August 18, its CEO Mike Hooper said today.
Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi on Monday assured the members of the Coordination Commission (CoCom) of the Commonwealth Games Federation that considerable progress has been made in all areas towards successfully hosting the 2010 Delhi Games.
Starting the 100-day countdown to this year's Commonwealth Games, the Queen's Baton Relay arrived in India from Pakistan through the historic Wagah Border in Amristar, on Friday. Chairman of the CWG Organising Committee Suresh Kalmadi, received the baton from Pakistan Olympic Association president Lt Gen Syed Arif Hassan at the international border, where the Commonwealth Games Federation chief Mike Fennell was also present.
Some of the top PSUs may have pulled out of the Commonwealth Games in the wake of corruption allegations, but Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi is unperturbed, saying he is confident of making up the deficit through the private sector.
Prince Edward has given a thumbs-up to the infrastructure coming up for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in the capital, the organisers claimed in New Delhi, on Sunday. The Prince showed interest in understanding the infrastructure development in Delhi and the level of the preparedness of the Organising Committee.
Widening its probe, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is looking into at least 22 more Commonwealth Games-related construction and procurement works carried out by different government agencies here for alleged financial irregularities.
Racing against time, the government formed a committee of senior bureaucrats to oversee the work at the Commonwealth Games venues virtually stripping Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi of his powers.
Several missed deadlines later, the venues of the Commonwealth Games are now completely ready, said organising committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi, claiming that the preparedness is such that events can now be held at the stadiums on an hour's notice.
Contradicting Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi's claims, three-time Olympic champion sprinter Usain Bolt has denied making any commitment to run at the event in New Delhi next year.
In further embarrassment to Congress, the Comptroller and Auditor General is understood to have rapped the Sheila Dikshit government in Delhi for irregularities in certain contracts related to the Commonwealth Games.
The Tihar jail authorities were directed on Thursday by a Delhi court to provide dedicated computers to sacked Commonwealth Games Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi and seven others, arrested for allegedly committing irregularities in a games-related contract to a Swiss firm, to read their case documents.
Dizziness, depression and anxiety. These are some of the complaints sacked Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi made when he approached prison officials in the Tihar jail.
'Officially, Suresh Kalmadi had only Rs 6.7 billion to play around with as the Commonwealth Games boss. As against this, Sheila Dikshit's government was allocated Rs 16.56 billion to upgrade the capital's infrastructure in time for the Games.'
Former chairman of the Commonwealth Organising committee and Indian Olympic Association President Suresh Kalmadi will soon be arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation for his role in the CWG scams.Kalmadi's close aide and former general secretary of CWG OC Lalit Bhanot is also facing imminent arrest. The Congress leader and his aides are being probed by the CBI for causing losses worth several crores to the government by favouring certain firms.
Embattled Suresh Kalmadi hit back at the Sports Minister, terming his sacking from the chairmanship of Commonwealth Games Organising Committee as "illegal and uncalled for."
Sacked Chairman of Commonwealth Games Organising Committee Suresh Kalmadi is likely to be questioned by CBI on Wednesday in connection with Queen's Baton Relay scam after the agency received fresh papers from the UK.
Rocked by corruption allegations, the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee on Thursday cracked the whip on tainted officials by suspending three officials, including T S Darbari, a close aid of embattled chairman Suresh Kalmadi, and terminated a multi-crore contract with an Australian company. The decisions were taken by the OC's all-powerful Executive Board, which met in the wake of the corruption scandals that have engulfed the October 3-14 mega event.
The extent to which the relationship between Commonwealth Games Federation CEO Mike Hooper and the 2010 Games Organising Committee (OC) has soured was evident when organizing committee officials tried to stop the New Zealander from addressing the media at their headquarters in New Delhi.
Satisfied with the preparation of Commonwealth Games venues, Organising Committee vice-chairman Randhir Singh on Monday said all the stadiums are in "top-class shape" and will be ready by August 25.
The Central Bureau of Investigation told a Delhi court on Wednesday that the Indian Embassy at Berne has requested authorities there for provisional arrest of three officials of Switzerland-based Swiss Timing Limited, against whom summons were issued for their alleged roles in a 2010 CWG-related corruption case.
Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall arrived in New Delhi on Saturday on a three-day visit to India to attend the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games 2010.
'We keep climbing one step and slipping three. In 2004, our relay team was 7th in the world. Then we slipped from there. Otherwise, today our 4x400 metres relay team would have been gearing for a medal at the Rio Games.' 'If we need to compete at the world level, our thinking needs to be at world level. You can't have akhada thinking.'