CWG glitches: Guilty to be severely punished, says PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh  on Saturday said those found guilty (of corruption in Commonwealth Games preparations) would face severe and exemplary punishment.

In a meeting with ministers concerned and other stake-holders to take stock of the preparations for the mega event to be held in October, the Prime Minister directed the ministries concerned to conduct thorough investigations into all complaints received with regard to procedural and other irregularities in CWG preparations.

The meeting was attended by sports ministers M S Gill, urban development minister Jaipal Reddy, Delhichief minister Sheila Dikshit, Commonwealth Games Organising CommitteechairmanSuresh Kalmadi and some top government officials.

Singh reviewed the preparations for the Games which will be held from October 3 to 14 in the midst of questions being raised over the state of readiness and allegations of corruption surrounding it.

There have been slippages in the time schedules of some of the construction works and deficiencies have been observed in some of the works, Singh said on the CWG preparations. He will visit select venues of Commonwealth Games in the last week of August.

With merely one-and-a-half months to go for the event, number of CWG venues are still not ready with construction still underway. This has raised doubts whether these venues would be ready by the time the Games start.

Kalmadi is also in the eye of a storm because of the allegations of corruption in grant of tenders and procurement of equipment for the games.
The Prime Minister's action came a day after the Congress top brass, including party chiefSonia Gandhi and him, deliberated on the matter at the meeting of the party's Core Group.

The issue of preparations and allegations of corruption was even raised in Parliament this week, with demands that a high-level oversight committee be appointed on the lines of the one formed during the 1982 Asian Games.

Such a committee at that time was headed by late Rajiv Gandhi with the then Sports MinisterButa Singh working under him along other officials.

The BJP yesterday demanded that the Prime Minister speak on the issue failing which it would press for suspension of Question Hour in both Houses of Parliament on Monday.