Kalmadi will step aside, but not quit
Former CWG organising committee chief Suresh Kalmadi said on Friday that he will step aside from the post of Indian Olympic Association President. This a day after he was released on bail by the Delhi High Court.
- NDTVSports
- Updated: January 20, 2012 04:54 PM IST
Suresh Kalmadi has been famous in politics for being a survivor. And by refusing to step down as President of the Olympic Association, despite serious corruption charges and nine months in jail, he proves he's no quitter.
Mr Kalmadi left Delhi's Tihar Jail last evening after he was granted bail in a case related to his term as Chairman of the Commonwealth Games Organizing Committee. He, along with others, is accused by the CBI of hiring a Swiss company to provide timing and scoreboard equipment for the 2010 Games for unreasonable prices. The government as a result lost nearly 40 crores.
When Mr Kalmadi was arrested in April last year, he did not resign as the head of the IOA, one of India's most powerful sports bodies that selects athletes who represent India in Olympics.
VK Malhotra took over as acting president. Mr Kalmadi has now reportedly informed the IOA that he will technically remain the President but Mr Malhotra will continue to run the show. Mr Kalmadi, who is an MP from Pune, suggested that technical complications mean that the current arrangement should continue till November, when the IOA will hold its election. Mr Kalmadi won the last election in 2008 and was made the President of the IOA for a fourth time.
"By not insisting that he will continue as the IOA president, Kalmadi has done the right thing, but at the same time he has not resigned yet," Sports Minister Ajay Maken said. "We should not leave it to the wisdom or will of accused himself (to continue in his post)," he said.
Though he has been suspended by the Congress, sources close to Mr Kalmadi say he plans to spend the next few weeks in Pune, which is headed for municipal elections. ÂÂ
Mr Kalmadi is a heavyweight here - he has represented Pune as a Lok Sabha MP three times. Local cadres of the Congress say his presence will boost morale as the party takes on Sharad Pawar's NCP. ÂÂ
Though Mr Pawar and the Congress have partnered for the municipal elections in Mumbai, the NCP opted to go solo in Pune, assuming that Mr Kalmadi's arrest would diminish his appeal among voters.