Corruption and incompetence are two different issues. But in the staging of the Commonwealth Games 2010 in New Delhi, big-ticket corruption appears to have been deliberately disguised as lower level incompetence and inefficiency. The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on CWG, presented in Parliament last Friday, is a step-by-step expose of the acts of omission and commission of the Organising Committee headed by Congress Member of Parliament Suresh Kalmadi, of the Delhi government, and of the Prime Minister's Office. The delays in decision-making listed in the report were intended to put pressure on timelines and thereby obtain waivers in laid-down government procedures while awarding contracts for the creation of Games-related infrastructure. As the CAG report points out, many contracts were given on single bids, and some even on nomination basis: “Eliminating competition led to huge avoidable extra burden on the exchequer.” The findings are an indictment of the Delhi government for irregularities and favouritism in the award of contracts and in the appointment of consultants — and of the PMO for rejecting all objections to the appointment of Mr. Kalmadi as chairman of the OC.
Mr. Kalmadi is now in Tihar jail following a CBI investigation and the willful mismanagement of the OC is already the subject of a criminal case. But Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will have a lot of explaining to do in the light of the CAG revelations. If the Congress were to adopt the standards it demanded of its rival, the Bharatiya Janata Party, in Karnataka, it would have no choice but to show Ms Dikshit the door. After calling for the resignation of B.S. Yeddyurappa as Karnataka Chief Minister following the indictment by the Lokayukta, the party cannot now take refuge in the argument that it is up to the Public Accounts Committee to look into the CAG report. Prime Minister Singh needs to clarify the extraordinary interest shown by the PMO in favouring Mr. Kalmadi. Notwithstanding the current attempts by the Congress to distance itself from the jailed MP, it is evident that he enjoyed the backing of people at the top in the party. Instead of pinning the entire blame on those already caught out, the United Progressive Alliance government should strive to restore the people's confidence in the system. The lesson from CWG 2010 is neatly laid out in the conclusion of the CAG report: “Not only should transparency and fair play be exercised, the public at large should perceive that Government monies have been expended in a fair and transparent manner and officials will be held accountable for lapses.”
Keywords: CWG scam, financial irregularities, CAG audit report
as per my view all party are the same thing of taking bribe and all are did in their period of work did wrong and lots of scam come in the light. thats why now anna hazare really zeal,enthusiasm personnality comes between us. we will have to really support him by hook and crook.insha allah i will support 100% to anna hazare.......
Our PM is of impeccable integrity is a term constantly propagated by congress and allies. But how can it be taken for granted?.It is because of the Supreme Court that some are in jail. Now the Congress party and some of the Ministers have started abusing the CAG also. It is the CAG report that reveals what is really going on at the corridors of power and how the common tax payers are looted. All these people were initially supported by the PM/PMO.The Congress party and the Govt. is totally against bringing the PM/PMO under the scanner of the LOKPAL because they are afraid that that the truth will be exposed.If the PM is unaware of things happening under his headship it is better that he gets detached from the post.The talkers of the "impeccable integrity" is getting reduced day by day.
Before one passes the judgement on higher ups let us bear in mind the smooth conduct of CWG games. It shows that the people knew their job. If they chose particular contractors, it is after vetting their capacity, to select at the shortest time and the result is there in front of all of us, a game that earned a name to our country in the comity of nations. Even the hope of failure from Mani Shankar Iyer before the Games, to its failure, alas, did not come true. Sri. Iyer chose to be mum after that, you see. The persons in charge would have erred, in bypassing the rules to speed up the process of selecting, so were Ms. Sheila, and Dr. Singh, but to read speedy manner of corruption is hasty in the first place.
'the public at large should perceive that Government monies have been expended in a fair and transparent manner and officials will be held accountable for lapses.' The public at last have already started to perceive to their utter bitterness that the hell has broken out. It is mischievous escapism and shameful on the part of Govt. spokespersons to shift blame on others. It is clear that the Olympic Committee pressured the PMO to agree to appoint Kalmadi as the chief. Neither the BJP has been above board, as seek from the behavior of VK Malhothra.
It is really incredible that despite the revelation of almost a scam a day, despite the belief that this is the worst and most corrupt Govt at the centre in recent times, there is still a large section of the media which talks about the UPA leadership in 'halo' terms. Does it really matter to any of us if the PM or Sonia Gandhi (much debatable) are people of personal integrity when they have led organised loot of the country ? This is monies that all of us as Taxpayers will fill, this is money that could have gone towards reducing our fiscal deficit, that could have gone towards upliftment of people that need it. Sadly, there will be scapegoats and things will be bad to normal since we are a very tolerant society. A country deserves its leaders and sadly, through our inaction, we have been saddled with them. It is still not too late for us as a country to rise and say zero tolerance to the menace of corruption. Lets demand actions.
The shame CWG scam wrought on us never dies down. We lose our credibility in the comity of nations as an emerging, healthy democracy . The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and his accomplices can no more feign ignorance of their unpardonable role in the corruption and the ineffiecieny involved. The iceberg of corruption with its mammoth dimensions and deadly connections keeps emerging baffling the common people .
CWG mess is contributed to Kalmadi and VK Malhotra(BJP) un precedented alliance. They have made sure to fullfill their dream by making loots of our money. Now to cover up VK Malhotra a big drama is being conducted by Congress and BJP. Both these parties are fooling the people like us.
What is the use of PM Manmohan Singh's personal integrity to the country if under his nose the corruption survived and thrived and worse still , is now being swept under the carpet through ruses and subterfuges.Sooner or later,Manmohan Singh will have to come clean about it? The day of reckoning may be about two- and- half year far away but will be unsparing and hard hitting.
It's clearly a double standard maintained by Congress party. In one case they ask Mr. Yeddeyurappa to resign over corruption charges and one other hand they are backing their own Chief Minster having similar magnitude of charges. The counter argument given by the Congress makes the affair sadder by stating that Smt Sheila Dixit had not taken bribe directly like Mr. Yedeyurappa. But this is not new to Indian politics and every party has emerged as opportunist rather than reformist. I may sound pessimist but as new corruption alleged suspects like Kerala CM and Amar Singh are emerging every day, it is very difficult to believe that any single individual at the top hierarchy is clean.
It really disheartening to see the tax payers money go down the train in scams like these. I also doubt whether the money stashed in Swiss banks by the demagogues will ever be recovered. A innocent and no-nonsense government, not UPA, would have taken steps proactively, to have these issues resolved asap instead of being tarnished by the 'CAG'mire.
Now it is very difficult to find out who is culprit and who should be punished as everyone seems involved in corruption, Ranging from OC to PMO to all other politicians. now its the crucial time for our country and for judiciary system to save it from the mouth of these wolfs.
This is a very important time for congress government as this incumbent government has last chance to show that it is against corruption. If BJP can discharge its chief minister on the charges of corruption why not Congress?In the past Congress continually showed that it is incompetent due to coalition and other reasons but now there is no issue like this. But one thing that is more important is that Sheila Dixit is one of the very rare politicians who really worked for India.So action should be likewise and Suresh Kalmadi is the main culprit in this whole scam and he should face the dire consequences.
Now there is a lesson to learn from this. Corruption has taken roots everywhere. No matter wherever you go,our corruption follows is the latest theme nowadays.Why not help the lokpal bill to get stronger so that we can at least root out the impending doom that is going to happen ahead.
The dark clouds of grafting,must be cleared immediately in the goodwill of the people.The people must realize that all the money which they posses or use in day to day life is national money. Only this will induce a permanent sense of satisfaction in the govt. machinery.
Ever since the eruption of cash for votes scam, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's standard of governance has been under constant monitoring. UPA I did not crown itself with glory but was tolerated,because of the TINA factor facilitated by the disarray in the principal opposition group NDA. So the rating was average or A. UPA II was since inception was one notch below qualifying for below average or BA , courtesy coalition compulsion in the cabinet formation and allocation of portfolios. With the serial revelations of multiple scams since the last two years with no one having any idea on how many more will come to light in the days ahead. The 'Standard'as per national perception has already nosedived to 'Poor' , in this season of review of ratings !
Daily one scam after another is coming.UPA II is facing a tough question to explain all these corruption charges. The PM is keeping silent .C & AG goes through the Government files, studies them, calls for remarks of the department on his findings by issue of half-margin memos, examines the department's replies and then only draft the audit reports after due vetting by senior Audit officers He does this with utmost care and with great responsibility.He thinks twice before submitting the Audit reports However Government is not that sincere. It dismisses the audit report as truth is always bitter to swallow Some irresponsible Ministers rush to describe the audit report is not Correct.First they try to deny the audit findings but if Apex court intervenes, truth comes out and only then CBI investigation commences.The Delhi CM is fully responsible for the Scam as made out in the Report,She Should resign at once.She should not be allowed to tamper with records as A. Raja did.
As you have rightly stated Kalmadi enjoyed the backing of people at the top in the party. The trail in all of the scams currently in focus, including the 2G scam, appear to lead to the very top of the Congress party. The big fishes always manage to escape as we have seen so often (eg Bofors) in the past.
'Our Prime Minister is a man of impeccable integrity'- that's the argument we usually hear whenever there's any allegation against the government. But the fact that the PMO itself is coming under the scanner so many times during investigations of serious corruption cases like the 2G, CWG, S-Band, does take quite a knock on the PM's own reputation particularly when his role as the head of the government becomes suspect. The PM should clarify his position before the parliament just like the British PM did few weeks back amidst phone-hacking scandal.
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