Kalmadi arrest too little too late: BJP

Terming the arrest of Suresh Kalmadi in the Commonweath Games scam as 'belated', senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vijay Goel demanded that the government should remove him as president of the Indian Olympic Association. 

"We welcome his arrest, but it has come too late. He should be removed as IOA chief with immediate effect. But what about Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit and the ministers who did not take prompt action against those who purchased material at inflated costs? Dikshit should be arrested and put behind bars," he said.

"The chiefs of New Delhi Municipal Committee and Municipal Corporation of Delhi should also be questioned for their roles in the scam and punished accordingly," he added.

Goel said that he was removed from Commonwealth Games Organising Committee on December 7, 2009, when he raised objection to the manner in which the tenders were being given to favoured firms.

Goel claimed that the total loss was around Rs 70,000 crore. But he quickly retracted the figure when asked if that was the kind of loss then how much money was actually spent on the games.

"When I say Rs 70,000 crore I actually mean that the money spent on the staging of the games. It was not a total loss but the loss is substantial," he added.  "Dr M S Gill, who was transferred to a different portfolio, had brought out a similar report which now forms part of the Shanglu committee, but he took no action on that report," he said.

"With the type of people that were inducted in the CWG organising Committee, corruption would have automatically followed," he alleged.