Opposition terms Kalmadi's arrest as belated

New Delhi, Apr 25 (ANI): The Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) reacting to the arrest of sacked Commonwealth Games (CWG) Organizing Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi, on Monday said the action was 'belated' and only the 'tip of the iceberg'.

"This (arrest) is only the tip of the iceberg. Kalmadi is not the only one. Others have not been arrested. CBI should take stringent action against those involved in the Commonwealth Games scam," BJP President Nitin Gadkari told reporters at the Maharashtra BJP office in Mumbai.

Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said: "It is a decision taken much belatedly. But why only Kalmadi? There was a scam of over 70,000 crores in the Commonwealth Games. Their Organising Committee (OC) indulged in a lot of scams."

"But all the stadiums or roads that were made, the Commonwealth Games (Commonwealth Games Athletes Village) that was made, flyovers that were made, who caused that scam? Why is there no probe taking place, and why are the guilty not being arrested?" he added.

Prasad also hit out the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government following Kalmadi's arrest.

"In this country, the way UPA (United Progressive Alliance) and all its allies have directly or indirectly, given a new height to corruption after independence, the whole country is ashamed of," he told reporters in Lucknow.

Another BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said Kalmadi's arrest was a delayed action and any further delay would lead to loss of material evidence.

"Kalmadi is a small fry in this whole matter and already it is a delayed arrest. We are also worried that any further delay will only lead to loss of material evidence. The matter should be expedited, others who are involved and others who have probably till now not been named - bigger ones, more influential people - who had a role to play in this should all be brought to book," Sitharaman told reporters in New Delhi.

Meanwhile, CPI (M) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat said: "The Shunglu Committee and the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had in their reports implicated the Delhi Government and some departments under central ministers."

"Therefore, the huge CWG scam is yet another piece of evidence about the corruption which has proliferated under the Manmohan Singh government. The fact that the action is so belated hardly brings any confidence," she told reporters in Kolkata.

Karat further said the investigation should not be limited to just in one case, when thousands of crore of rupees is involved, and added that apt action should be taken against all those involved in the scam.

The CBI on Monday afternoon formally announced Kalmadi's arrest for his alleged role in the AM Films and Swiss Time scams.

Kalmadi, who has been charged with conspiracy and cheating, will be produced in the Patiala House court tomorrow. He also faces charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act. (ANI)