Impressed with Indian athletes overwhelming performance at the 11th South Asian Games Dhaka, IOA president Suresh Kalmadi has promised cash incentives for the star performers of the country.
Sports Minister Ajay Maken on Friday said though sacked CWG Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi, accused in a Games-related graft case, has been allowed by a Delhi Court to go to London for the upcoming Olympic Games, he should voluntarily desist from going to the mega event.
Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi on Monday conceded that there are many challenges in hosting the 2010 Games but assured the CGF General Assembly delegates that India would overcome them to deliver a memorably well-organised event.
Sport Minister Ajay Maken on Monday said that Suresh Kalmadi, accused of corruption in the multi-crore Commonwealth Games scam, cannot escape from the law just because he is suffering from dementia.
An aide of Member of Parliament Suresh Kalmadi, who has been lodged in Tihar jail for over two months in connection with the multi-crore Commonwealth Games scam, on Wednesday claimed that he had not shown any signs of mental ailment and appeared alert. "Kalmadi had signed and sent a communication to the Pune district planning council sanctioning the sum of Rs 1.45 crore from the MP's fund on July 13, which indicated his level of alertness," said Pune Congress president.
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".
Suresh Kalmadi, lodged in Tihar jail in connection with alleged irregularities in Commonwealth Games, will be able to attend Parliament only if a competent court grants him permission, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar said on Friday.
IOA president Suresh Kalmadi on Tuesday rubbished media reports that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is not keen to share dais with him during the opening ceremony of the National Games.
Former Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi has asked senior vice-president V K Malhotra to continue discharging his duty as acting president of the IOA, saying he would not represent the body for some time.
Armed with new details gathered by its team in London in connection with THE Queen's Baton Relay, the CBI has asked former Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi to appear before it next week.
Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi urged Mahesh Bhupathi to roll back his decision to quit team tennis and play in the Doha Asian Games.
Delhi's Chief Minister is nervous about the hosting of Commonwealth Games in the capital but the event's organising committee head Suresh Kalmadi assures that all is well with the preparations despite umpteen delays.
"I am innocent till proven guilty," a beleaguered Suresh Kalmadi said after CBI raided his house in New Delhi and questioned him for eight hours over allegations of bungling in the conduct of the sporting extravaganza.
Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi said India would bid for the 2016 Olympic Games.
A Delhi court has ordered framing of charges against former Commonwealth Games (CWG) organising committee (OC) chairman Suresh Kalmadi and others for forgery, cheating and conspiracy, in a Games-related graft case.
The Congress on Wednesday claimed that there was nothing wrong in former Union minister A Raja and Suresh Kalmadi being made members of Parliamentary Standing Committees. While Raja is the main accused in the 2G spectrum scam, Kalmadi is a prime accused in the Commonwealth Games scam.
Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi on Thursday chose not to speak on the sex scandal that rocked the Indian women's hockey on Tuesday.
The Delhi high court has asked Suresh Kalmadi, who has refused to resign from the presidentship of Indian Olympic Association, why he should not be suspended from the post along with Lalit Bhanot and V K Verma for their alleged acts of corruption during the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
The Shunglu Committee has faulted the sacked chief of Commonwealth Games organising body Suresh Kalmadi and his aides over award of contracts saying there was "extreme concentration of powers at the top" and "conflict of interest" among the organising committee officials.
A fresh controversy has erupted after Maharashtra Congress President Manikrao Thakre announced formation of a 21-member 'Coordinating Committee' to work out electoral strategy for the forthcoming civic polls here, with the anti-Kalmadi faction within the party alleging that the panel was dominated by loyalists of the tainted MP who brought disrepute to the city which he represented in Parliament.
The Indian players and the support staff would be rewarded with Rs one lakh each for the superb 4-1 win over Pakistan in their hockey World Cup opening match, Indian Olympic Association President Suresh Kalmadi announced on Sunday.
While everybody is going gaga over the successful hosting of the Commonwealth Games, former athletes Milkha Singh and India's sprint queen PT Usha are upset. They are unhappy about the raw deal they got from Suresh Kalmadi at the Games and are planning to meet the Prime Minister.
The IOA president feels a good showing in the 2010 Commonwealth Games will win India the bid to host the 2016 Olympics.
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.
Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday sharpened its attack against Sports Minister Ajay Maken for allegedly misleading the Lok Sabha on appointment of Suresh Kalmadi as Commonwealth Games organising Committee head, saying the Comptroller and Auditor General report makes it clear that prime minister's office responsible for it.
Bhartiya Janata Party spokesman, Prakash Javadekar, has accused Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs Ajay Maken, for distorting facts in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday by stating that the UPA government had nothing to do with the appointment of Suresh Kalmadi as head of the Commonwealth Games.
The Congress on Monday distanced itself from party member of Parliament Suresh Kalmadi's move seeking a Joint Parliamentaey Committee probe into the Commonwealth Games issue, saying it was his independent view and the party has nothing to do with it.
'I am still the boss of the Commonwealth Games', embattled Organising Committee chairmanSuresh Kalmadi insists, while making it clear that he is not a quitter and the spate of corruption allegations will not force him to step down at this stage.
Shortly after being sacked as the Chairman of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, a defiant Suresh Kalmadi made it clear that he will not step down from his other post of Indian Olympic Association President.
Chief of the Indian Olympic Association, Suresh Kalmadi, who returned to India along with members of the Indian Asian games contingent from China late on Sunday night, called on the speaker of Lok Sabha Meira Kumar on Monday told her about the performance of Indians athletes in the recently concluded Asian Games and also sought her seek her permission to make a statement on the CWG scam to clear his position.
CWG organising committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi's close aide Sanjay Mahendroo, who had been arrested for alleged bunglings in the Queen's Baton relay in London in 2009, was released here on bail on Saturday evening following a court order.
Former India hockey captain Pargat Singh launched a scathing attack on Indian Olympic Association chief Suresh Kalmadi, calling him the "dirty face of Indian sport", who is desperate to maintain control over the game's administration by interfering in the much-awaited Hockey India polls.
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.
The fierce wrangling in the IOA took a new turn on Monday with its senior functionary R K Anand claiming that the Ethics Commission's 'suspension' of Suresh Kalmadi was known to the apex body's top brass but was deliberately kept under wraps, a claim which was rejected by the rival faction.
The meeting has been called to discuss letters received from the IOC which had threatened to act on its own if the national sports apex body does not furnish what action it is going to take against Suresh Kalmadi.
Congress leader and IOA vice-president Jagdish Tytler on Friday demanded that his party colleague Suresh Kalmadi be removed as president of the organisation if he does not resign on his own.
A day after the arrest of two of his close aides, sacked Commonwealth Games OC chairman Suresh Kalmadi on Thursday accused the investigating agencies of "targeting" only the Organising Committee when government officials were also part of the entire decision-making process.
"The major issue is the athletics stadium, whether to make a new stadium or renovate the present one," the IOA president said.
As the month-long countdown for the Commonwealth Games begins, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Organising Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi, in the line of fire for tardy preparations, voiced confidence that 'hitches' will be overcome and the event will be a great success.
The increasing number of star pullouts may be taking the sheen off the Commonwealth Games but Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi is not too worried, saying there will be plenty of world champions in action and those who have withdrawn have done so because of injury.