PM calls meeting of ministers on CWG

Published>Sat, Aug 14 10 03:38 PM

New Delhi, Aug 14 (IANS) A day after the Congress core committee met to discuss the controversy-hit Commonwealth Games (CWG), Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called a meeting here of the concerned ministers, including Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Saturday evening.

Official sources said that Manmohan Singh will meet Sports Minister M.S. Gill and Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy regarding smooth conduct of the Games, just 50 days away. The prime minister will have a separate meeting with Dikshit too.

The decision by Manmohan Singh to meet the ministers comes on the heels of the Congress core committee meeting Friday evening, which deputed the prime minister to conduct further deliberations for successful conduct of the Games.

The preparations for the Oct 3-14 Games have attracted adverse media coverage for the delays in construction works and alleged corrupt deals by the organising committee, which is led by Member of Parliament Suresh Kalmadi.

Kalmadi has denied the charges and said he was ready for scrutiny. Opposition parties led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Left have called for Kalmadi's resignation and an explanation by the prime minister on the floor of parliament.

Congress circles have been indicating that the party is disinclined to replace Kalmadi before the Games. However, the Congress core committee is understood to have suggested to Manmohan Singh to evolve ways to do the 'damage control' and ensure smooth conduct of the CWG, being held in India for the first time.

A suggestion that Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar be tasked to coordinate the preparations in the remaining period to the CWG is also being considered by the prime minister, sources said.

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