CWG mess: Parliament stalled as Govt mounts 'Save Sheila' operation!

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NDTV Correspondent, Updated: August 08, 2011 17:35 IST.

New Delhi:  Parliament did not transact any business on Monday. The Opposition came armed with two CWG-related issues - they wanted Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit to resign for being faulted by the government's auditor and wanted a debate on Sports Minister Ajay Maken's statement on Suresh Kalmadi's appointment, that, it claimed, misled Parliament. After much uproar, both Houses were adjourned for the day.  (Read: Highlights of the auditor's explosive report on CWG)

 

But not before the NDA had given privilege notices against Mr Maken for saying that its government of 2003 was to blame for the appointment of Suresh Kalmadi as CWG Organising Committee chief.

 

In Lok Sabha last week, Mr Maken had presented, suo moto, the government's view of what transpired - that the UPA inherited Mr Kalmadi. That when Dr Manmohan Singh's government was voted into power in 2004, the paperwork that had been signed by the Vajpayee government for the Games ensured that Mr Kalmadi would rule the Commonwealth roost. 

(Read: Ajay Maken goes into huddle with predecessors)

  

Outside Parliament, in an effort to break the logjam, the government's managers met Opposition leaders and made a deal. They agreed to a Parliament discussion at noon tomorrow on the Sports Minister's statement. But said the government would not discuss the Comptroller and Auditor General's report on the CWG mess as it would duly go before the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament first.

The government troika of Ambika Soni, Kapil Sibal and Salman Khursheed came out all guns blazing, and slammed the Opposition for disrupting Parliament. Mr Khursheed said the government was ready for any debate, but only if the Opposition let Parliament function.

 

Sure, we want Parliament to function too, said Yashwant Sinha of the BJP. But, he scoffed, "don't treat Parliament like a school debating society. If something has the people exercised, it will reflect in Parliament."

 

Mr Sinha said, "It's being made out that Suresh Kalmadi is only responsible. And that Kalmadi is a BJP man. We will expose UPA's role if debate takes place."

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CWG SCAM: Cong set to replace ‘clean CM’ Sheila?!

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August 6, 2011 / By Sanjay Basak and Manish Anand, Correspondents, DC, New Delhi.

With the CAG report indicting Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit on the CWG issue, speculation is rife that the party is set to drop her. However, following the Karnataka formula, Ms Dikshit might be given a chance to select her own successor. “Let me see the CAG report first,” Ms Dikshit said, “all details will now be provided to the PAC”.

Meanwhile, with Delhi Assembly elections slated for 2013, the Congress intends to get a leader with a clean image. So far the names of Union ministers Ajay Maken and minister in the Sheila Dikshit Cabinet A.K. Walia are doing the rounds. Moreover, with Parliament in session, the ruling UPA is preparing to counter the Opposition onslaught over Mrs. Dikshit’s indictment. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Congress top leadership are apparently in the mood to replace controversial leaders as the Centre “is hit by a series of scams”, a senior Congress leader said.

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http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/nation/north/cong-set-replace-%E2%80%98clean-cm%E2%80%99-sheila-706

CWG SCAM: CAG: consultants selection for beautification project arbitrary!

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Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar, The Hindu / NEW DELHI, August 5, 2011.

QUESTIONS REMAIN: Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit after a Cabinet meeting on the CAG report on Commonwealth Games, in New Delhi on Friday - PTI.

In award of works, there was a wasteful expenditure of over Rs. 100 crore

The Performance Audit Report of the Commonwealth Games 2010, released by the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India on Friday, has indicted Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and the Delhi government for causing losses running into hundreds of crores to the exchequer.

Addressing a press conference here, Deputy CAG Rekha Gupta said: “In our view, the street-scaping and beautification project was ill-conceived and ill-planned, without a broad overarching vision and perspective of how this would impact urban design and development. The project was largely a consultant-driven project, with the selection of consultants being arbitrary and non-transparent, and without any common design guidelines and targeted budgetary estimates.”

Ms. Gupta said, “This resulted in adoption of richer specifications in an arbitrary and inconsistent manner in different packages. We found the average awarded works for street-scaping and beautification works of Rs. 4.8 crore/km to be exorbitant with a total estimated wasteful expenditure of more than Rs. 100 crore.”

The CAG, while acknowledging the “marked improvement in illumination levels of Delhi roads brought about by the implementation of the street lighting project,” however, criticised the decision to use imported luminaries on selected ‘A' category of roads, saying it was “not based on technical parameters.” Noting that this decision was “taken with the active involvement of the CM,” the CAG said it “resulted in avoidable expenditure of more than Rs.30 crore.”

Further, “the procurement price of imported luminaries was far higher than the fair prices.” Also, Ms. Gupta said, “We found restrictive tendering conditions imposed by the Public Works Department, as well as a deficient ‘design-based' tendering approach followed by the New Delhi Municipal Council.”

Full Story at,

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2328679.ece?homepage=true

2G SPECTRUM SCAM: CAG slams Dikshit, points to 'enormous bungling'!

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August 5, 2011 / IANS, New Delhi / DC.

Contract management ahead of the Commonwealth Games (CWG) was 'highly irregular', the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has said while stating that there was Rs.30 crore wasteful expenditure with the knowledge of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

However, Delhi Government said Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has not been indicted by the Comptroller and Auditor General on corruption charges in Commonwealth Games projects as the auditor has only pointed out certain 'procedural wrongdoings'.

Within hours of the CAG report being tabled in Lok Sabha, top Delhi Government sources said that 'no charge has been made against the Chief Minister.

"The CAG has only pointed out certain procedural wrongdoings. This is not an indictment."

Addressing the media, Rekha Gupta, deputy CAG, said there were numerous instances of 'single tendering' and the awarding of contracts to 'ineligible vendors'.

The process was inconsistent so as to favour particular bidders, she said, while disclosing details of the report tabled in parliament earlier in the day.

Stating that there was 'active involvement of the (Delhi) chief minister', she said favours were granted to vendors who were not qualified.

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CWG SCAM: BJP says Sheila Dikshit must resign, she calls cabinet meeting!!

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NDTV Correspondent, Updated: August 05, 2011 13:41 IST.

New Delhi:  A report on the Commonwealth Games has been tabled in Parliament, placing Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in the line of fire. The report, 800 pages long, is the work of the government's auditor, and gives Mrs. Dikshit a failing grade largely on account of the massive over-expenditure for the Games.

Mrs. Dikshit said this morning that she will respond to the allegations after the auditor's report is formally presented in Parliament, and her office gets a copy. She has called an emergency meeting of her cabinet this afternoon at 3.  

India bid for the Commonwealth Games in 2003; they were held in Delhi in September last year. The man responsible for stitching together the event - Suresh Kalmadi - is in jail. Mr Kalmadi, a Member of Parliament, was Chairman of the Organising Committee. Along with his associates, several of who are also now in prison, Mr Kalmadi seemed to function in a continuum of corruption, according to a series of exposes by different media companies including NDTV. 

The government's auditor agrees with this, placing the blame not just on Mr Kalmadi but also on the Prime Minister's Office for placing Mr Kalmadi in charge. "In our opinion, the decision of the PMO for appointing Suresh Kalmadi as Chairman of the OC facilitated the conversion of the originally envisaged government-owned OC into a body effectively outside the government control." The Prime Minister's Office says Mr. Kalmadi's chairmanship was determined by a contract signed by Atal Behari Vajpayee's government, which was in power when India bid for the Games. Mr Vajpayee's party, the BJP, denies this, saying that it clearly stipulated that a government nominee - the Sports Minister - was meant to chair the Organising Committee. With the rapid denials, Mr Kalmadi's appointment has turned into one of India's unsolved mysteries.

The government's auditor - the Comptroller and Auditor General - also blames Mrs. Dikshit, widely acclaimed for her honesty and efficiency, for costing the government more than 100 crores in losses on account of poorly-handled contracts.  In several cases - like in the purchase of medical equipment - companies allegedly did not deliver several of the supplies they were paid handsomely for.  

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CWG SCAM: Sheila Dikshit discusses CAG report on CWG!

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PTI / The Hindu / NEW DELHI, August 4, 2011.

Sheila Dikshit.

With pressure mounting on Delhi government following the reported irregularities pointed by CAG in certain CWG projects, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Thursday held hectic parleys with her cabinet colleagues and top officials and discussed the issue.

A meeting held at Dikshit’s official residence, in the morning was attended by PWD Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan, Transport and Education Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely and Power Minister Harun Yusuf besides Chief Secretary P K Tripathi and some other officials.

Later she also held couple of meetings with officials and believed to have discussed the situation arising out of the reported allegations levelled against her and the government by the CAG.

Sources said the government will react to the CAG report only after it is tabled in the Parliament.

The CAG has reportedly pointed out that Spageage Switchgears, one of the disqualified firms bidding for street lighting project, was declared qualified “irregularly” after it made a plea to the Chief Minister.

Full Story at,

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2321784.ece

CWG SCAM: Dikshit evades questions on CAG report on CWG!

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PTI / The Hindu / NEW DELHI, August 3, 2011.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Wednesday evaded questions on the Comptroller and Auditor General reportedly rapping her government for irregularities in Commonwealth Games projects, saying she will comment only after the report is tabled in Parliament.

“I will not comment on CAG. Let it be tabled in Parliament. Then only I will say anything,” Ms. Dikshit said.

She was asked to comment on reported observations by CAG about irregularities in certain contracts related to the Commonwealth Games.

Full Story at,

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2318692.ece

CWG SCAM: Government's auditor faults Sheila Dikshit too!!

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NDTV Correspondent, Updated: August 02, 2011 20:34 IST.

New Delhi:  Sheila Dikshit has been blamed for costing the government Rs. 31 crore in losses by deciding to use imported equipment for street lighting in Delhi during the Commonwealth Games. 

The government's auditor finds  that after the Chief Minister's sanction, lights were bought at a price that ranged from Rs. 25,000 to 32,000 each - "far higher than the fair price computed."

The Games were held in Delhi in September 2010. 

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG)  also cites the example of a company  named Space Age, which imported low-cost bulbs from Saudi Arabia.  Space Age allegedly paid  Rs. 5,000 per light but charged the government Rs. 25,000 per light - earning a super profit of more than Rs. 2.5 crores.

 

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MISINFORMATION FOR VOTES: Delhi Lokayukta asks President to pull up Sheila Dikshit!

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Mid-Day.com, NDTV / Updated: July 19, 2011 11:31 IST.

New Delhi:  In fresh case of embarrassment to the Sheila Dikshit government, the Delhi Lokayukta has taken a stern stand against the Delhi Chief Minister.

On Monday, Delhi Lokayukta Manmohan Sarin passed an order, slamming the chief minister for "misrepresenting" facts. Sarin stated that to garner popularity ahead of the 2008 assembly polls, despite knowing that this was not the case, Dikshit announced that 60,000 low-cost flats were ready. He recommended the President to censure her for misrepresenting the facts.

Sarin's order came following investigation into the complaint filed by advocate Sunita Bhardwaj, a BJP member. In her defence, Dikshit told the Lokayukta that the complaint was a part of the strategy of principal rival political party to "malign her as a part of political vendetta".

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