Rediff.com looks at some of the political honchos who will have a 'dark Diwali' behind bars this year.
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.
The National Democratic Alliance on Monday gave separate privilege notices in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha against Sports Minister Ajay Maken's statement on the Commonwealth Games.
For the 12th straight working day, Parliament was on Monday adjourned till noon as Opposition members persisted with their demand for a Joint Parliamentary probe in the 2G spectrum allocation scam.A thinly-attended Lok Sabha saw members thumping their desks after Speaker Meira Kumar lauded the performance of Indian sportspersons in the recently concluded Asian Games.
With the Commonwealth Games coming to a close, Suresh Kalmadi and others involved in organising the event are being put in the dock. Even Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit is not being spared.
There's no way India can rise above its mediocre work ethics and produce quality performance in the next three years to convince the Olympic selectors.
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.
Union Sports Minister M S Gill visited the Commonwealth Games Village and spent over two hours at the venue on Wednesday.
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.
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.
The sources said the CBI raids started early in the morning and are focussed on four companies, which had acted as the Indian arm for the same number of international firms. The contracts were bagged by consortium of foreign and Indian firms.
The Commonwealth Games organizing committee handed over copies of completion certificates for all competition and non-competition venues, including the Games Village, to CGF CEO Mike Hooper. 'We got copies of the completion certificates given by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to the venue owners today and, as promised, handed them over to Mr. Hooper,' OC chairman Suresh Kalmadi said on Monday.
While the Radias, Kalmadis and Rajas were hogging the limelight this year for all the wrong reasons, these celebrities were busy creating ripples in their own ways.
Delighted with India's performance in the recently-concluded Youth Olympics Games (YOG) in Singapore, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Saturday felicitated the country's medal winners in the inaugural quadrennial event with cash awards.
The mystery surrounding the Indian high commission e-mail, which triggered the corruption storm that has engulfed the Commonwealth Games, is getting more intriguing as the official who originally received it has refused to confirm or deny its authenticity.The e-mail, sent by an IHC protocol official Raju Sebastian, recommended various service providers for the London launch of the Queen's Baton Relay. It was made public by CWG Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi.
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.
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.
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).
Nitin Gadkari, president of Bharatiya Janata Party, has charged the Manmohan Singh government of looking the other way while officials and others associated with organizing Commonwealth Games were making money.
Casting a wider net, the CBI on Friday conducted searches at the premises of certain Organising Committee (OC) officials in Delhi in connection with the multi-crore CWG overlays scam.
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.
With curtains drawn over the Commonwealth Games, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday said it will "pursue" the alleged delay and corruption in Games preparations vigorously as reflected by the "mood of the people".
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday said the government should not make A Raja and Suresh Kalmadi scapegoats in the 2-G spectrum and Commonwealth Games scams and asserted that since all decisions were taken by the Union Cabinet and the prime minister, a joint parliamentary probe alone could bring out the truth. He stuck to the BJP stand that until a JPC is formed, the whole truth will not come out.
It's just five days since the Games kicked off and -- no prizes for guessing -- more then 10,000 condoms have already been used. By the end of it the number could double.
The opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2010 has saved the day for Suresh Kalmadi and company. A record 29 million viewers tuned in to watch the telecast on Doordarshan on Sunday.
Despite the controversies, delays and challenges in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games, India had risen to the occassion and is set to deliver a successful Games, both CGF chief Mike Fennell and Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi said.
Dahlan Jumaan Al-Hamad, the newly-elected president of the Asian Athletics Association, emphasised that the competition and development programs of the federation need to be reviewed and strategic marketing is required to attract corporate sponsors.
In a decision that will come as a breath of fresh air to a large number of embattled Congressmen, the party leadership in a change of strategy has decided to play aggressive and defend party leaders charged with graft rather than sacrifice them one after the other as was happening till now.
Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi and other sports administrators received a shot in the arm after the International Olympic Council (IOC) rejected Sports Ministry's argument for a tenure limitation regulation, warning such a move might result in India being thrown out of the Olympic family next month.
A defiant Indian Olympic Association on Tuesday spurned the Sports Ministry's tenure limitation guidelines even though there was a voice of dissent against its president Suresh Kalmadi's "dictator-like" functioning.
Oscar winning music composer A R Rahman on Saturday launched the theme song of the Commonwealth Games with a rendering of "Oh yaaro, yeh India bula liya" at a glittering ceremony in Gurgaon.
According to sources in the organization, after having carried out raids on Wednesday with regard to the 2G Spectrum scam, the agency is now preparing to launch major raids in connection with Commonwealth Games tender scams.
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.
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.
Suspended Organising Committee Joint Director General T S Darbari claims he is not involved in the Queen's Baton Relay financial irregularities case and has become a victim of media campaign.
The committee will float the tender by September 15, less than three weeks before the Games begin in New Delhi.
Ace shooter Gagan Narang, who won four gold medals at last month's Commonwealth Games, will be India's flag-bearer at the opening ceremony of the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China on November 12, Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi said in New Delhi on Tuesday.
As the Queen's Baton Relay for the Commonwealth Games continues its 100-day journey through the country, Olympic bronze medallist boxer Vijender Singh on Wednesday demanded that it should also make a stopover in his hometown Bhiwani.
The Queen's Baton Relay for the 2010 Commonwealth Games on Monday entered Jammu and Kashmir from Punjab after it was received by state's Sports Minister R S Chib at Lakhanpur -- 90 kms from Jammu.
Many will hope this is the beginning of a new phase in Dr Singh's tenure, when he lets his office, the government, his council of ministers, his party and coalition and the country know that he means business, that the buck stops with him, that his colleagues and officers must shape up or ship out, says Sanjaya Baru
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