Kirti Azad (BJP), who initiated the debate in Lok Sabha on situation arising out of delay in preparation for Commonwealth Games, referred to the recommendations of the Central Vigilance Commission and said several Government departments have been charged with irregularities.
He criticised various departments for cost escalations to the tune of 513 per cent.
Azad said despite setting up of an empowered committee on January 29, 2005 to oversee the preparations, several irregularities have come to the notice.
"Is the committee ignorant of the corruption or has it preferred to turn a blind eye...Who is responsible?" he asked.
Azad said then Union HRD Minister Arjun Singh had chaired a Group of Ministers which decided that an apex committee under the Sports Minister would oversee preparations for the games and would be kept informed of major decisions taken on the international sporting event.
Sports Minister M S Gill, who was present, was described by Azad as 'Dronacharya'.
Amid peals of laughter, the BJP member referred to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as 'Kripacharya' and the Delhi government as 'Gandhari'. He also described the group of secretaries for game preparation headed by the Cabinet Secretary as 'Shakuni'.
He said said while a new cricket stadium in Nagpur cost Rs 90 crore, renovation of the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium was carried out at Rs 961 crore. He wondered whether gold, silver and diamonds have been used for renovation.
Azad invited "adarniya (respected) Japial Uncle" (Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy) to Nagpur to have a look at the new stadium. "I will take you there if the government does not sponsor your tour," he said. Rejecting the opposition's charges, Manish Tewari (Cong)said the CVC recommendations were preliminary in nature and could not be termed as final report.
He played down the controversy surrounding the Queen's Baton Relay saying expenditure on the event was 0.07 per cent of the total budget of the Organising Committee for the games.
He said 840 players, 185 coaches and 78 officials have been trained for the event.
"In the midst of allegations and counter allegations, truth has been lost," he said, referring to the allegations made by the opposition parties.
Azad earlier claimed that the cycling velodrome was constructed using concrete whereas it should have been made with wood.
He said players have been denied the opportunity of practising in stadia before the event as most of them were not ready so far.
Gill intervened to say that international test events have taken place in some of the stadia.
Sharad Yadav (JD-U) said, "This (management of Commonwealth Games 2010) is no longer in the hands of either Central or Delhi government."
Yadav demanded that an inquiry should be initiated immediately into charges of corruption against the organising committee managing the mega event as the case would be diluted once the games are over.
He asked the Government to give the authentic information about the expenditure on the games and revenue expected to be generated from it.
Yadav said according to a tourism department report total expenditure on the games would be close to Rs 87,000 crore which would be higher than the Rs 50,000 crore budget of forthcoming London Olympics.
At this, Gill clarified that Delhi Government would be spending Rs 16,500 crore while Union Sports Ministry's budget for the games was estimated at Rs 11,498 crore.
When some Congress members came in support of Gill,Yadav said, "Don't put yourselves into trouble by pleading his case."
In the presence of Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi, he also made certain remarks which were later expunged when Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal took exception.
Akhilesh Yadav (SP) said, "After wasting so much of money in the name of organizing the games, the government has planned fireworks show which would cost Rs four crore."
"When government has already wasted so much money, why should they waste more money on fireworks," he asked.
He pointed out that renovation works have not been completed so far. Citing an example of Shivaji stadium where pre-qualification tests were to be conducted for games, he said, "It is not ready."
Yadav demanded inquiry into the matter saying it involves country's reputation and Rs one lakh crore investment of public funds.
He said, "Seize the passports of all those official who are involved in the games so that they do not escape when an inquiry is ordered."
He said the rates of games tickets are exorbitant at Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000 and Rs 25,000 and added that sale of tickets has evoked poor response.
Games corruption will be looked into: Govt
After a pounding by the Opposition, which demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee to go into allegations of corruption in the Commonwealth Games, Government on Monday said irregularities will be inquired into "exhaustively" and the corrupt will be pursued till the "end of the earth".
It also appealed to parties, cutting across lines, to ensure that the games are held successfully.
"We all know that the CVC and other constitutional bodies do their job, but if every primary observation is blown upto a scam then we cannot function.
"I don't say that corruption has not taken place. No one can say that. All irregularities will be inquired into exhaustively," said Urban Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy said in a spirited intervention during a debate on the games in Lok Sabha.
He said some people took the position that a country like India, which has a lot of poverty, should not have hosted the Commonwealth Games.
"Though I beg to differ from them, I respect their ideological position. But with only a month left, this should not be raised".
He debunked claims of leaders like Mulayam Singh Yadav that Rs one lakh corr has been used for the games, saying, "We are living in some system. Such claims are made with absolute abandon. By no stretch of imagination can it be held as true. It does not speak well of our maturity".
Reddy said a total of Rs 28,054 crore have been spent on the games out of which Rs 16,560 crore was given to the Delhi Government for upgrading the capital infrastructure and building of various stadia. The BJP and other parties in the Opposition, RJD JD(U)and Left Parties, demanded a JPC into the Games spending.
Sharad Yadav of the JD(U) said, "this (management of Commonwealth Games 2010) is no longer in the hands of either Central or Delhi government".
Yadav demanded that an inquiry should be initiated immediately into charges of corruption against the ogranising committee managing the mega event as the case would be diluted once the games are over.
RJD leader Lalu Prasad said, "each penny should be accounted for. A Parliamentary committee should be formed to inquire into the allegation".
Kirti Azad (BJP), who initiated the debate, referred to the recommendations of the Central Vigilance Commission and said several government departments have been charged with irregularities.
He criticised various departments for cost escalations to the tune of 513 per cent.
BJP MP Anurag Thakur demanded that a JPC should be set to probe the charges of corruption.
Reddy said, of the total of money given to the Delhi Government, only Rs 670 crore has been spent directly on the games-- that on building the stadia.
"The rest of the money has been spent on the infrastructure development of the capital, which is not directly linked to the games," he said.
Giving a break-up of the money spent, the ministersaid the Delhi Government has spent on various projects which includes Rs 650 crore for street scaping, Rs 900 crore for development bus depots, Rs 3,000 crore for extension of the Metro, Rs 18,000 crore for augmenting the DTC bus services and Rs 3,700 crore on flyovers and bridges.
In the Rs 11,494 crore spent by the centre, Rs 2.934 was spent on sports infrastructure, Rs 678 crore on training of teams, Rs 182 crore has been given to MTNL, Rs 827.85 crore has been given to the Ministry of Urban Development, Rs 487.57 to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and Rs 747 crore to the Health Ministry.
Reddy said, the Government has also given Rs 2,394 crore as loan to the organising committee, which is to be returned by them after the games.
Defending the huge amount of money spent, he said that most of the money has been spent of infrastructure development which will remain as the country's legacy long after the games are over.
"If you furnish and paint your house before your daughter's wedding, then the money spent on that cannot be said to be part of the dowry," he quipped.
Reddy asked all parties to support to make the Games a success. "All of us cutting across party lines, should rise to make the games a successful and spectacular".
"I therefore say with confidence that we would be staging the best commonwealth games in history.
Reassuring the House that the projects will be ready before the games, he said, "the event can be organised even now".
Uproar in LS over Mamata's rally in Lalgarh
Trinamool Congress' rally in Maoist-affected Lalgarh had its echo in Parliament today with Left members seeking to know the Centre's stand on the alleged hobnobbing of the UPA ally with the extremists, dubbing the meeting as an "anti-national activity".
The BJP and the BJD also used the opportunity to attack the Centre.
Amid strong protests from the Trinamool Congress in Lok Sabha, A Sampath (CPI-M) said the Centre must spell out its stand on the public meeting in view of the Maoist-backed People's Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA) supporting the rally called today by Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Without taking the name of Trinamool Congress or Banerjee, he wondered during the Zero Hour how could a UPA ally, including its leader who is a Union Minister, could align with Maoists, described by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the biggest threat to internal security.
"Maoists have made it clear that they are with this political party. What has happened that the Union Minister and Ministers of State are not here (in the House)? The Minister is participating in the rally and organising it", he said.
Sampath said when the entire House has condemned the killing of CRPF jawans in Dantewada by the Maoists, "it is an anti-national activity of a Union Minister by jointly holding a rally with them".
Countering the charges, TC leader Sudip Bandopadhyay said Banerjee's mission to Lalgarh was for "peace and harmony".
"If Home Minister P Chidambaram could visit Lalgarh a month back, what is the harm if another cabinet minister visits there? We are totally against politics of violence and killings," he said, alleging that the naxal movement was a "by-product" of CPI(M).
Bandopadhyay said the PCPA, which has extended support to the rally, was "not a banned organisation". To this, the Left members said it was "led by Maoists".
The Left members stormed the well during the Zero Hour demanding that they be allowed to raise the issue as they were assured that they would be given time when the House had assembled for the day.
In the Rajya Sabha, the Left got support on the issue from the BJP and the BJD in targetting the Trinamool Congress.
Rajiv Pratap Rudy (BJP) said he had "doubts" over the government's intentions in tackling the Maoists.
Pyari Mohan Mohapatra (BJD) referred to the rally and said "this should be taken up by the Centre very seriously".
Prashanta Chatterjee (CPI-M) said the Maoists would be sharing the dais with the Railway Minister and she has demanded withdrawal of joint security operations.
"This has encouraged Maoist leaders like Kishenji and Mahato who have openly declared that they will join the meeting," he said.
Sonia expected to attend Parliament
Congress president Sonia Gandhi is expected to attend Parliament on Monday, the first time since the Monsoon session started.
She has returned from the US after a nearly two-week stay there to attend to her ailing mother Paola Maino, party sources said.
The UPA chairperson had left for the US before the monsoon session of Parliament which commenced on July 26. Her son and party general secretary Rahul Gandhi, too, had gone along with her but returned a week back.
Sonia's return is being keenly awaited by the party since it has to finalise its stand on issues like inclusion of caste in the Census.
A meeting of the Congress working committee is also to be called soon to decide on the schedule for the election of the Congress president.
The Congress Core Group, which comprises the party's top brass including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, did not meet on Friday last week in the absence of Gandhi.
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