Suresh Kalmadi Says, No Question Of Quitting

India News New Delhi: Coming out in his defence for the first time after the sleaze in the Commonwealth Games organizing committee came to the fore, OC chief Suresh Kalmadi said that there was not question of quitting as he had done nothing wrong. Talking to a news channel, Kalmadi sought to clear his stand on the AM Films controversy, saying that Sanjay Mohindroo and Darbari were entrusted with the task of handling the QBR ceremony last year and that he knew nothing about any e-mail exchange that took place between Mohindroo and Ashish Patel.

A furor had erupted after reports emerged of alleged discrepancies in the awarding of contracts for acquiring various services for the games and inflating the prices of essential commodities.

News channel exposes had shown how Sanjay Mohindroo, a member of the organizing committee had sent a mail to Ashish Patel, owner of AM Films, the provider of services during last year's Queen's Baton Relay ceremony, asking him to quote a whopping amount of 450 pounds for each cab. Such cabs are otherwise available for not more than 150 pounds per day.

Both Darbari and Mohindroo were sacked from the organizing committee on Thursday.

On being asked why he was avoiding the press, Kalmadi said that he was too busy with the CWG work.

"I have not been evasive at all but busy with the Commonwealth Games work," he said.

Kalmadi conceded that he may have been misled by some people but said that he will quit only if asked to do so by his party and the IOA.

"I believed what people told me. I trusted my people," he added.

Earlier on Thursday, the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee finally cracked the whip by suspending a close Suresh Kalmadi aide T S Darbari and two other tainted high-ranked officers in a desperate bid to restore its credibility.

On a day of swift action, CGOC treasurer Anil Khanna, too, resigned in the wake of allegations that his son’s firm secured the contract for laying synthetic courts at the R.K. Khanna Tennis Stadium, one of the venues for the Oct 3-14 Games.

In another important decision, the CGOC executive board decided to terminate the contract of Australian company Sports Marketing and Management (SMAM), which was looking after the sponsorship deal for the Games, on grounds of “non-performance”.

The decisions were taken by the OC’s all-powerful Executive Board which met for an emergency meeting where the report of its three-member probe panel led by CEO Jarnail Singh was read out.

Lalit Bhanot, the secretary general of CGOC, put up a brave front while declaring the decisions of the executive board, which met here Wednesday, in front of a crowded press conference and said there is no threat to the mega-event.