New Delhi, Aug 5: BJP today demanded Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's head after her reported indictment in the CAG report on Commonwealth Games scam and insisted the Prime Minister should clarify as anomalies of this scale were not possible without the consent of higher-ups.
“The CAG report confirms that massive irregularities have taken place in organising the Commonwealth Games. There was patent abuse of the system. Disqualified people were promoted and contracts were deliberately delayed to jack up prices and it was presented as a fait accompli,” BJP Chief spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
He maintained that everybody from DDA to Delhi government to the Organising Committee of the Games have been criticised by the CAG in his report.
“The CAG report and the report of V K Shunglu Committee- appointed by the Prime Minister himself- concur. Shunglu said there is a method in the madness. This scam is not possible without the consent of the higher-ups,” Prasad said.
“We demand that Sheila Dikshit should resign forthwith.
If she does not, then she should be sacked,” he added. Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley insisted that the findings are “disturbing” and the matter requires serious investigation. He said the probe agencies looking into the CWG scam should use this report as a first document for further investigations.
The opposition demanded that role of all concerned should be investigated.
“Such huge allocations would not have been possible without the consent of the cabinet committee, cabinet sub-committee, GOMs, Expenditure Committee, Finance Committee and the PMO. Their role should be probed,” Prasad said. The BJP said investigations should be carried out both into criminal misconduct and the administrative lapses that took place during the Commonwealth Games preparations. Pointing out financial irregularities in the CWG projects, the party said Rs 246 crore contract was given for broadcasting which was later outsourced for a big sum.
“Then Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Sunil Dutt wrote a letter to the Prime Minister on November 14, 2004 objecting to change by the GOM- headed by the PM- of the earlier provision which said as the sports minister he should head the organising committee,” Prasad said. He wondered how Suresh Kalmadi became the OC Chairperson despite the above rule.
“We want the Prime Minister to clarify that even when a respected minister suggested that Kalmadi should not become the OC Chairperson, this was done and at a very great cost to the country,” Prasad said.
The opposition refuted allegations made by Minister of Sports Ajay Maken in Parliament about the Organising Committee chairperson post.
“In the Afro-Asian Games Chandrababu Naidu was the chairperson of the Games while IOA Chairperson Suresh Kalmadi was the vice-chairman,” Prasad said, adding that this was the rule which was changed by the UPA government. He also referred to the letter written by Sports and Youth Affairs Minister M S Gill to the Prime Minister on September 26, 2009 in which he said appointment of Kalmadi is “surrounded by a whole range of suspected circumstances”.
BJP charged the Congress with maintaining “double standards” and said the party - which is in power in Delhi - could not take action against its junior minister Raj Kumar Chauhan when he was named in a land scam. PTI
