Kalmadi should resign, demand activists

In a letter written to the president of the Congress party, Sonia Gandhi, founder national chief of the Arogya Sena, Abhijit Vaidya, has demanded resignation of MP Suresh Kalmadi  from the chairmanship of the organising committee of the Commonwealth Games. Vaidya also demanded Kalmadi's resignation as a Member of Parliament stating that Kalmadi has betrayed the people of the city who elected him three times. Moreover, he has also betrayed the nation, the latter stated.

Addressing a press conference on Friday, Vaidya said, "A letter has been sent to the party president on Friday demanding Kalmadi's resignation against the backdrop of recent fiasco over the management of the Commonwealth Games, to be held in Delhi in October."

Vaidya added: "The blatant corruption in preparations for the Commonwealth Games not only has tarnished hopes of 1.1 billion Indians, but also has hurt our national pride. The organising committee has crossed all limits of corruption by fudging contracts, forging documents and manipulating prices. The Indian high Commission in London has accused the organising committee of tempering with e-mails. Everyday, new facts are pouring in about the misappropriation of public funds and massive escalation in the budget for the games."

Vaidya said the Arogya Sena seriously holds Kalmadi responsible for this. We consider Kalmadi as the main culprit, as he is a master political manipulator," said Vaidya. He added that Kalmadi has never raised his voice for the citizens of Pune. Be it floods, the swine flu calamity, water shortage, inflation, fire in slums, and so on. "We have appealed to Sonia Gandhi to put moral pressure on Kalmadi to resign from both the posts, as he has lost his moral authority to hold these posts," he said.

The organisation has also put forward a demand to set up a judicial enquiry committee to investigate Kalmadi's role in the alleged corruption.