New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) The government Tuesday blamed the previous Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regime for the appointment of tainted Suresh Kalmadi as the main organiser of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.


Making a statement in the Lok Sabha on his own, Sports Minister Ajay Maken said the NDA government had in 2003 begun the process which ultimately led to the appointment of Kalmadi as chairman of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee.

The statement comes amid a leaked report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) blaming the Prime Minister's Office for overlooking the objections raised by successive sports ministers against Kalmadi's appointment.

Kalmadi is in jail now and faces corruption charges related to large scale financial irregularities in the conduct of the Games in October last year.

Maken said there was little the Congress-led government -- formed a year after the NDA signed the bid document with the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) -- could have done to stop Kalmadi's appointment.

“The original bid document had provided for a 'government appointee' as the chairman of the OC with the vice chairman being the IOA (Indian Olympics Association) president (Kalmadi). However, the bid document was inexplicably changed to delete the words 'government appointee' in respect of the chairman,” the sports minister told the Lok Sabha.

The “legally obligatory” contact was signed with the CGF in November 2003 by Kalmadi, then city lieutenant governor and the sports secretary, he said.

“The contract, to which the government of India became a signatory in 2003, stipulated that the conduct of the games will be entrusted to the Commonwealth Games Association of the host country, which in our case was the IOA.”

The contract also stipulated that an Organising Committee (OC) having a legal status will be formed and which “shall be jointly responsible with the CGA for all the commitments including financial commitments in regard to the organization and staging of the games".

Maken said that the “empowered” IOA in its meeting held Nov 1, 2004 elected Kalmadi as OC chairman and authorised him to finalize the panel in consultation with the other members of IOA.

It authorized Kalmadi to deal with the government of India and the city government regarding the Commonwealth Games, Maken said.