By IANS,
New Delhi : Allegations of corruption in the preparations for the Commonwealth Games generated much heat in the Lok Sabha Monday with a key government ally calling for a statement from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and two opposition parties demanding a parliamentary probe into the issue.
The issue, taken up as a short duration discussion, took up much of the post-lunch session with the opposition going hammer and tongs against the preparations for the Oct 3-14 mega-event and the government launching a spirited defence through Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy and Manish Tiwari, who is also the Congress spokesperson.
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, the second largest party in the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) said it “will be satisfied” if Manmohan Singh makes a statement in the Lok Sabha that “anybody found guilty of Commonwealth Games corruption will not be spared”.
Referring to media reports on the allegations of financial irregularities in organising the Games, Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay, while participating in the debate, said: “This issue has to be clarified on the floor of the house. All of us are concerned.”
Intervening in the debate, Jaipal Reddy expressed confidence that India would host “the best ever” Commonwealth Games, adding that allegations of misappropriation of funds were “preliminary observations” and shouldn’t be blown out of proportion.
“What we need today is the complete focus (on conducting the event) cutting across all party lines and focus on to deliver, good, if not spectacular (games),” Reddy maintained.
“I can say with confidence that we will be staging the best Commonwealth Games ever.
Initiating the discussion former cricketer Kirti Azad of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Commonwealth Games scam. Lalu Prasad of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supported the demand.
Equating the Games to a “big fat Indian wedding without the groom”, the BJP’s Kirti Azad said it should not be called the Commonwealth Games but the “Corrupt Games”.
Alleging a scam of thousands of crores of rupees in developing the infrastructure for the Games, he said a JPC probe should be held to unearth the truth.
Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Sharad Yadav said that even Britain’s Queen Elizabeth was upset over the alleged graft in the Games preparations.
“Even the queen is upset about it,” Yadav said, eliciting an immediate response from Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal.
“The queen has written a letter appreciating the preparations. You can say what your opinion is but don’t comment on the queen,” Bansal said.
The Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (CGOC) is alleged to have paid AM Films, an Indian-owned firm in London, over 450,000 pounds for services during last year’s Queen’s Baton Relay inaugural without proper tendering and paperwork.
Two aides of CGOC chief Suresh Kalmadi were suspended after an enquiry found that an e-mail from the Indian High Commission in London on the basis of which the firm was hired were tampered with.
This apart, CGOC treasurer Anil Khanna quit in the wake of allegations that his son’s firm was unduly favoured in ordering the synthetic turf for the tennis stadium for the Games.
Audit watchdog Comptroller and Auditor General of India has also commented adversely on the cost overruns for the stadia being built or refurbished for the Games.
The JD-U’s Yadav had a poser on the total expenditure on the Games.
“A report from the tourism ministry shows Rs.87.5 thousand crore has been spent on the Commonwealth Games,” he said.
“This is not true,” Sports Minister M.S. Gill countered, adding: “The expenditure is close to 11,498 crore.”
Samajwadi Party (SP) member Akhilesh Yadav said the government should immediately probe the graft charges as the officials involved in the wrongdoings could flee the country after the event.
Yadav also demanded that the government should seize the passports of the officials involved with the Games.
“If the total expenditure is taken into account, this will be one lakh crore (rupees),” he said, adding that strict action should be taken against those found guilty of wrongdoing.
Participating in the debate, the RJD’s Lalu Prasad said: “A JPC should probe the issue. It will examine if the work has been done or not and deal with the issue of corruption.”
He also said that money was being spent on the Games while many parts of the country were facing calamities like drought and floods.