Fungus of corruption had eaten into all spheres of life in India :::: If politics and power can be ruthless .. Suresh Kalmadi, a former Air Force pilot, will go down the memory lane as a 'man' shattered by his own fault and circumstances

Born in 1944, Suresh Kalmadi began his professional life as a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force.

(Corruption case against Kalmadi came at a time ... when the international press such as 'Time' magazine rated Manmohan Singh as an “under achiever” and 'The Washington Post' called him a “tragic figure.”) 

He also took part in both the 1965 and 1971 wars, before entering politics and sports administration. He represented prestigious Pune Lok Sabha seat in Maharashtra as a Congress leader and also served as a Union minister.

At one point he grew a favourite of the then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao.

As IOA president for considerable time; Kalmadi had enormous influence during a period when Indian sport was expanding its global footprint. 

Corruption on a massive scale was alleged in the organizing of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010. This shattered Kalmadi and he never got back his political position, prestige and the will to fight back.

He was shattered.  

On 25 April 2011, the CBI arrested Kalmadi in the Timing-Scoring-Result (TSR) case. He was charged under Sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code. 

On 20 May 2011, the CBI filed the first chargesheet in a special CBI court against Kalmadi. The CBI alleged that he was the main accused in awarding the TSR system contract to a Swiss firm. 

The charge sheet said, "Kalmadi is the main accused as he was the person with all supreme powers. He had the supreme overriding powers in the Organising Committee of the CWG, 2010." 

Left and Samajwadi Party MPs protest against CWG scam and other scandals - 2010

Kalmadi's membership in Congress party was suspended after being arrested and charged with corruption. This left him devastated and perhaps he thought he was made a scapegoat. 

On 26 April 2011 he was sacked from the post of president of the Indian Olympic Association. On 1 July 2013 he lost the election for the post of president of the Asian Athletics Association, a post which he had held for 13 consecutive years.

On 2 August 2010, Suresh Kalmadi had bought hundreds of air conditioners for Rs 4,00,000 and treadmills for Rs 9,00,000 for the Commonwealth games and the sports facilities of Indian players. The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) blamed agencies under the Delhi government and the sports ministry for large-scale procedural violations and corruption.  

This was the scandalous period of Indian politics with Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh at the helm. Gradually, the Congress lost its credibility and ultimately the 2014 elections that brought BJP back to power.  

India was then rocked by a slew of allegations of kickbacks and nepotism on an unprecedented scale. 

In a report released in mid-August 2010, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) estimated a loss to the state exchequer that could amount to US$37 billion with regard coalgate.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram said there was “no loss” as no mining of coal has been done yet. The case centred around the government’s allocation of coal deposits suitable for mining.

“The truth is, the corruption and gross impropriety in the coal blocks allocation will end at the prime minister’s doorstep. He has to quit,” said Arun Jaitley, then leader of the opposition in the upper House of Parliament. 

Besides CWG scam; there were other scandals.  

The CAG also had alluded to kickbacks and dubious deals in the allocation of 2G  telecom licences, leading to a  US$32 billion loss. 

Corruption on a massive scale was also alleged in the organizing of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. 

There was a scam related to a housing scheme for widows of war victims in Maharshtra and also the privatization of Delhi airport. 

                  Supporters of anti-corruption bill at a rally in Maharashtra - 2010 

(The single biggest achievement of Modi Govt is that since 2014; the opposition or the media and huge armies of anti-BJP 'social activists' could not bring any serious corruption charge against the centre.) 

These scandals all resulted in a round of resignations and the imprisonment of several government ministers and executives. 

The fungus of corruption had eaten into all spheres of life in India. 

And now .... Congress leader talks about Vote Chori 

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