Kalmadi's arrest, the tip of iceberg for Congress?

It was a day of embarrassment for the Congress-lead United Progressive Alliance as Suresh Kalmadi, the Congress member of Parliament from Pune and the former chairman of the Commonwealth Games was arrested for alleged conspiracy in awarding a contract for the Games to a Swiss company at an inflated cost of Rs. 141 crore.

If that was not enough Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam chief Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi was named co-conspirator in the second chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the 2G scam. With DMK being a key ally of the Congress, the government is left red-faced.

Sources say that while the Congress leadership had taken a decision to suspend Kalmadi once the Games were over. However, the party decided to postpone the suspension till after his arrest to avoid embarrassment. While the party sent out a clear message that corruption would not be tolerated, it had no answers to why Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi did not exercise control on ministers and other functionaries in key positions.

The arrest of the former CWG Organising Committee chairman has triggered worry within the Congress since Kalmadi has made it clear that he will not go down without a fight. A large number of Congress leaders and MPs from Pune face the fear of being exposed as Kalmadi has in his possession handwritten letters asking him for contracts and other favours related to the CWG. He is reported to have said that he did not turn down anyone who asked him for favours and has an impressive list of people who are in key positions.

A few months ago, Kalmadi had said that every decision made by him was countersigned by key officials from the Prime Minister's Office. He had also  said that Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and her team should be investigated.

Recently, the PMO recommended that action should be taken against the Delhi CM on the basis of the findings of the Shunglu report. In fact, a few months ago, the prime minister advised Dikshit to step down, but she apparently decided to turn a deaf ear to him, say insiders. While Dikshit has rubbished the Shunglu report, clearly the PMO's take on it differs.  

The Lt Governor Tejinder Khanna could also be in trouble since he is in charge of the Delhi Development Authority. Also, some key bureaucrats and ministers in the Delhi government may face the axe, say sources.     

Kalmadi's arrest has also left Congress MPs and senior leaders miffed who feel the timing was really wrong. Many are now comparing Dr Singh to PV Narasimha Rao who in the last days of his tenure had begun to act against Congress leaders in the hawala case causing the party to become dysfunctional and thus losing the general elections that followed.

Dr Singh has been too busy guarding his prime ministerial chair to bother about keeping a check on ministers. He is no different from Narasimha Rao who always believed that not to act was the best decision, said insiders. The fallout of Kalmadi's arrest will be seen in the coming months, fear Congress leaders.
 
Moreover, charges against Kanimozhi have raised questions about the stability of the alliance between the Congress and the DMK. If she faces arrest, it will only spell more trouble for the government.