Indian PM Issues Stern Warning To Erring CWG Officials, Says Guilty Will Be Punished

New Delhi, India (AHN) – With barely 48 days to go for the Commonwealth Games and venues far from complete, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday issued a stern warning to all the agencies involved that cases of corruption would be dealt with seriously and the guilty punished.

Allegations of large-scale corruption in the Commonwealth Games Organizing Committee (OC) and various government agencies involved in construction have rocked Parliament, with the Opposition demanding the resignation of OC chairman Suresh Kalmadi.

Fictitious and non-existent companies have been given plum contacts worth millions of dollars, sending the cost of organizing the Games soaring, and experts saying the quadrennial event could cost more than 20 times the actual bid in 2003.

On Saturday, Singh, after keeping mum for over a fortnight despite hostile news reports and criticism from Opposition, finally opened his mouth convening a high-level meeting “to set the final timelines to complete pending works and punish the guilty”.

The Prime Minister directed all the agencies to work expeditiously and in a time-bound manner so that the final deadline set by the Delhi government — August 31 — could be met. He also said categorically that quality audits would be done on all the works and slippages would not be tolerated.

“It is important to gain public confidence by instilling order and carrying out effective supervision of the preparation works,” the Prime Minister said in a statement. He also directed all concerned ministries, especially the Urban Development Ministry headed by Jaipal Reddy and the Sports Ministry headed by MS Gill, to launch thorough investigations into allegations of corruptions and irregularities.

“Those found guilty should face severe and exemplary punishment,” Singh said in a statement. Sources say the PM finally took cognizance of the situation a day after the Congress Core Group, chaired by Sonia Gandhi, expressed grave concerns over the increasing criticism of the government. A senior Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) source said that with this decision, the PM had virtually shut down Kalmadi’s OC. Singh has asked his Cabinet Secretary to work closely with the Group of Ministers (GoMs) who have been authorized to oversee the time-bound completion of works. Besides, the GoM has been asked to brief the PM on a weekly basis. On Sunday, there were reports that the PM would personally visit every stadium sometime in the last week of August.

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