Government cant remove Kalmadi, says Reddy
Suresh Kalmadi isnt going anywhere in a hurry. There has been a lot of media speculation that the CWG Organising Committee chairman was going to be sacked but Union Urban Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy said that nothing of the kind was going to happen.
Such an action is simply not possible under the Commonwealth Games Federation charter. The Government cannot simply remove Kalmadi , it has only powers to sideline him. That is what has been done.
The Prime Minister convened a meeting of all those involved in hosting the CWG Reddy , Sports Minister MS, Gill , Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit and Cabinet Secretary KM Chandrashekhar at his residence on Thurday evening to review the preparation of the Games. He, however, chose to keep Kalmadi out of the meeting.
Reddy denied he had replaced Kalmadi or taken over the functions of the Organising Committee chairman. As head of the Group of Ministers , I will continue to discharge my duties.
Sharing a deep sense disquiet in the Government over Kalmadis handling of his reponsibilities, Reddy said: Kalmadi let us down with his failure to keep the Village spic and span. He was just given the task of keeping 3,000-odd rooms clean. It is no mean task but then it should have been accomplished.
Speaking to Mumbai Mirror ahead of the meeting convened by the PM, Reddy said, I understand it was not possible for Kalmadi to get trained people to clean the rooms but then he should have mobilised help. He should have asked us. He did nothing. The Games Village was after all handed to Kalmadi about 15 days ago by the Delhi Development Authority .
Ready target
Sources said the PM chose to sideline Kalmadi because he wanted to assuage the public anger against the Government for messing up the Games. The OC chief appeared a ready target as he appeared prima facie as a congenital scamster.
For the collapse of the foot overbridge, the Delhi Government is responsible not Kalmadi. Yet action is being taken against Kalmadi because of the international reaction. No one has complained about the fixtures in the rooms. Everyone has problems with hygiene and cleanliness, so Kalmadi has to answer for that , said the source.
