Kalmadi Cast Aside Amidst Corruption Investigations

(ATR) Commonwealth Games Federation president Michael Fennell tells Around the Rings the man behind Delhi 2010 hasn’t been fired, just "asked to step aside".

Either way, Suresh Kalmadi will have no further role in the messy cleanup of the Games that ended more than three months ago.

The controversial chief organizer was shown the door Monday along with secretary general Lalit Bhanot, who ATR learned last month had been in charge of the prolonged Games wrap-up.

Their exit came just four days after Ajay Maken took control of India’s sports ministry and hours later issued an ultimatum for the organizing committee to pay all outstanding bills within 10 days.

Maken reportedly made the decision under advice from attorney general Goolam Essaji Vahanvati in order to make way for a corruption investigation from the country’s Central Bureau of Investigation.

"In the light of the concerns expressed by the CBI and in the interest of impartial and unhindered investigations, it has been decided to remove Kalmadi from the position of the chairman of the OC," the new sports minister was quoted by Press Trust of India.

Organizing committee CEOJarnail Singh will take charge in the absence of Kalmadi and Bhanot.

Fennell said Monday he understands their departures to be somewhat more temporary than Maken’s words would imply.

"We did not get it as a firing," he told ATR in an exclusive interview.

"How we got it is that they’ve been asked to step aside to facilitate smooth investigations rather than direct dismissal."

The CWGF president also said the news out of India wasn’t exactly unexpected.

"We know that there are a lot of investigations going on there," he said, "and therefore news of their exchanges and decisions over there in a way would not surprise of us because we know there’s been a lot of disruption."

Games organizers are under fire for delaying millions of dollars in paymentsto Australian businesses that helped stage Delhi 2010’s widely hailed opening and closing ceremonies.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported Thursday that sound company Norwest Productions is still due almost $1 million, and fireworks provider Howard & Sons is owed $300,000 in late payments and another $900,000 for unreturned gear still sitting on the subcontinent’s docks.

Also up in arms is events expert Ric Birch, whose Spectak Productions was in large part responsible for the Oct. 14 closing ceremony.

Birch told ATR last month he’s still owed roughly $350,000 and has reportedly asked a Melbourne-based law firm to launch a multi-million-dollarclass-action suit to recover the funds.

Diplomacy is also in the works as officials in both countries push for resolution to these controversy-ridden CWG. Australian foreign affairs minister Kevin Rudd met Thursday with his Indian counterpart, after which SM Krishna promised to broach the delays with his countrymen upon his weekend return to Delhi.

Maken’s ultimatum came hours later, and now Kalmadi is out of the picture as well.

Whether his removal will have any bearing upon his post as NOC president remains unclear.

"It has nothing to do with the Indian Olympic Association. The IOA general body meeting will be held in Ranchi on February 12," Kalmadi told PTI, implying he’d be there to conduct the proceedings.

Neither Kalmadi, Indian IOC member Randhir Singh nor anyone at the IOA could be reached Monday for comment.

Fennell will travel to Delhi next week for a meeting with Maken but said he couldn’t speak to whether the sports minsiter’s 10-day ultimatum will in fact be met.

"We try to intervene because we would like all things to be properly settled up," he told ATR.

"The Games were extremely successful and therefore we wouldn’t anything to tarnish the image of that success."

Written by Matthew Grayson.