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.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday went beyond probing only the officials of the Suresh Kalmadi-led Commonwealth Games Organising Committee to start cracking on those allegedly involved in corruption in construction and renovation of the stadiums.
A refurbished R K Khanna Tennis Complex was formally handed over to Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi on Monday, at a ceremony attended by Union Minister of Urban Development S Jaipal Reddy and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. Unlike other stadia, upgradation of which is being undertaken by government agencies like the DDA and NDMC, the tennis venue was completed by the All India Tennis Association (AITA).
Commonwealth Games Federation chief Michael Fennell, who had only last month expressed concern at the tardy preparation for the 2010 edition of the Games, is now satisfied with the progress, organisers claimed on Saturday.
A man threw the slipper at 66-year-old Kalmadi, who was escorted by a posse of policemen, as he entered the court complex for being produced before a special CBI court.
Commonwealth Games Federation General Assembly on Saturday unanimously passed a resolution commending the efforts of the Organising Committee (OC) of 2010 Commonwealth Games to get things ready for the grand celebrations of sport beginning in Delhi on Sunday.
The judicial custody of sacked Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi, arrested for alleged irregularities in awarding a contract to a Swiss firm, was extended on Wednesday by a Delhi court.
Michael Fennel said it is important that the IOA understands its responsibility of staging the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
President Pratibha Patil, not Prince Charles, will officially declare the Commonwealth Games open in Delhi on Sunday. This is the first time the royal family has been denied the traditional honour, the Daily Mail claimed.
Taking serious note of the payment dispute between some Australian firms and organisers of the Delhi Commonwealth Games, the Sports Ministry has ordered the latter to settle the issue within ten days. Ajay Maken, the new sports minister, instructed the sports secretary to get in touch with the government officials in the Commonwealth Organising Committee and clear all legitimate payments after proper verification.
At its first executive committee meeting since the CBI arrested Kalmadi last month, interim president V K Malhotra said the IOA will follow the constitution when it comes to taking any step against the former Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chairman.
According to the organising committee of the Commonwealth Games, orders have been placed with Tata Motors for nearly 1,800 cars during the games and some more cars, jeeps and trucks for the Queen Baton Relay that would commence its nationwide run from June 25.
Chairman of the Commonwealth Organising Committee and pPresident of the Indian Olympic Association Suresh Kalmadi on Monday claimed credit for a spectacular three-hour opening ceremony.
Hit by delays and escalating cost of infrastructure, the 2010 Commonwealth Games received a massive monetary boost on Thursday with the central government allocating Rs 1620 crore as loan to the Organising Committee of the event.
In spite of the recent spate of exposes in the media detailing alleged corruption and scams in the preparations for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, the Centre has decided to release additional funds for the Games.The Opposition will get yet another chance to attack the government and the Suresh Kalmadi led Commonwealth Games Organising Committee when Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presents the supplementary demand for grants in Lok Sabha.
The Central Bureau of Investigation raided a dozen premises across Delhi on Thursday in connection with the alleged scam in Commonwealth Games overlays contracts. It included an office under the Union Sports Ministry, as it registered a fourth FIR naming a top Games official, V K Verma, for the second time.
Sacked Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi was discharged on Thursday evening from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, where he underwent several tests for memory-related disorder dementia. Lodged in Tihar jail for nearly three months in connection with the multi-crore Commonwealth Games scam, 67-year-old Kalmadi was admitted to AIIMS for a medical check-up on August 1.
The Congress top brass has accepted Suresh Kalmadi's resignation as secretary of the Congress Parliamentary Party with immediate effect. Kalmadi, the chairman of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, has been in the eye of a storm following allegations of corruption in CWG-related projects.
Organisers of next year's Glasgow Commonwealth Games are introducing some of the "best practices" of the 2010 New Delhi Games, Senator Hugh Segal, Canada's Special envoy for CWG renewal, said.
Legendary athlete Milkha Singh on Monday lashed out at the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (OC) for not giving former sportspersons a prominent place during the spectacular opening ceremony of the Games in New Delhi on Sunday.
The visiting Commonwealth Games delegation has given a thumbs-up to the under-construction Games Village, the organisers claimed in New Delhi on Thursday.
Australian consultancy firm SMAM, whose contract was terminated by the Delhi Commonwealth Games organisers for "non-performance", got the backing of top sports administrators here who said the company has been made a scapegoat in the corruption scandals that have rocked the event in India.
Sacked Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi, arrested for his alleged role in awarding a Games contract to a Swiss firm at an exorbitant rate, was today denied bail by a Delhi court.
Tarlochan Singh, Indian Member of Parliament and chairman of the media committee of India's Commonwealth Games Organizing Committee, was in Toronto to receive the Queen's Baton.
Suresh Kalmadi was on Monday arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation soon after he came in for interrogation at the agency's headquarters in New Delhi over alleged irregularities in the conduct of Queen's Baton Relay (QBR) held in London in 2009.
An Australian company, which was hired to raise sponsorship for the Delhi Commonwealth Games, on Wednesday denied receiving any commission from the event's Organising Committee, claiming that it is yet to be paid for its services.
The embattled organising committee of the Delhi Commonwealth Games on Tuesday claimed that it has cleared dues, amounting to Rs 111.84 crore, to 36 of the 45 foreign companies involved with the conduct of the event held last year.
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.
A rightful share of the praise heaped on the Organising Committee of the Commonwealth Games (CWG) for a spectacular inaugural function including the laser show should also go to West Bengal, for the much-required electricity for the Games is being supplied by the state.
Apparently trying to inject a sense of urgency into the preparations for next year's Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, CWG Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi is eyeing to rope in Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi as "a leader for the Games".
The Delhi Commonwealth Games organisers' failure to admit to problems with their preparations has seen them lose the faith of competing countries, New Zealand chef de mission Dave Currie said on Thursday.
Sacked Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi, the prime accused in a games related corruption case, on Wednesday told a Delhi court that his job was to look after the "sports affairs" and not the "technical" matters.
Two former office bearers of Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, Lalit Bhanot and M Jayachandran, arrested for their alleged roles in a games-related corruption case, were granted bail on Saturday by a Delhi court.
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.
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.
Rediff.com takes a look at politicians who have enjoyed some shoe therapy over the years.
Engulfed in a spate of corruption scandals, the Commonweath Games organising committee was on Friday dealt another blow with merchandising company Premier Brands pulling out of the mega event.
The controversial Delhi Commonwealth Games is in the headlines again after sporting authorities in New Zealand claimed that they are owed a 'six-figure sum' by the event's organisers in India.
Sacked Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi, facing trial in a games-related graft case, has been allowed by a Delhi court to visit Kazakhstan to attend a meeting of 73rd Asian Athletics Association Council.
The Tihar Jail authorities as well various city hospitals, where sacked Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi was medically examined recently, were asked by a Delhi court not to make public his medical condition.