Kalmadi should resign if found guilty: Digvijay Singh

SHAHJAHANPUR - Congress General Secretary and in charge of Uttar Pradesh affairs Digvijay Singh on Tuesday said the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi should resign if found guilty into all allegations of corruption related to the Games.

“The Central Vigilance Commission has handed over a case to the CBI. Prima facie, if there is indeed a case against Kalmadi then he should resign on moral grounds,” Singh told reporters here.

He reiterated that if there is a prima facie case against Kalmadi, then to step down is the only logical thing to do.

According to media reports, Kalmadi has provided more fodder for a united opposition attack on the government.

In a report, the Times of India claimed that it had procured enough evidence to prove that Kalmadi cleared payments due to AM Films without a written contract or proper tender process.

The newspaper report alleges that more emails and faxed documents point to Kalmadi’s involvement.

AM Films and AM Car and Van Hire reportedly received 247,000 pounds. Businessman Ashish Patel and Commonwealth Committee members, however, said that it was done for the 2009 Queen’s Baton ceremony.

Meanwhile, following a plea by the Union Sports Ministry, the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (CGOC) has terminated the services of its Joint Director General T S Darbari over charges of corruption.

Darbari has been asked to hand over charge to Additional Director General VK Saxena.

The Sports Ministry said it was not pleased with just Darbari’s suspension and wrote several letters to the organising committee seeking his ouster. (ANI)