NEW DELHI: The embattled supremo of the Delhi Commonwealth Games, Suresh Kalmadi, has vanished from public view with the event plunged into crisis and teams threatening a mass pullout.
Kalmadi, the face of the troubled Games, has not been seen or heard of since revelations broke over the "filthy" state of the athletes' village and a footbridge collapsed near the main stadium.
Indian media reported that the 66-year-old member of parliament from the ruling Congress party had been asked to keep a low profile by the government.
Kalmadi, who chairs the Games organising committee, was not part of a high-powered delegation led by cabinet secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar, which visited the village Tuesday after delegations complained it was "unfit for human habitation".
It is unusual for the highly visible Kalmadi to stay out of the spotlight but as the October 3 opening ceremony nears and the crisis deepened, he remained sequestered in his office at the plush Games headquarters in central Delhi.
The man who promised the "best ever" Commonwealth Games and an athletes village "better" than the one at the Beijing Olympics initially had his wings clipped in mid-August.
At that time, with the Games organisation already facing mounting criticism, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gave overriding powers to a group of ministers to oversee the preparations.
The move followed a report by the Central Vigilance Commission on rampant corruption, although Kalmadi himself was not personally implicated.
Kalmadi told reporters earlier this month that he was willing to face any criticism or government inquiry as long as the Games went off well.
"I don't mind people blaming me," he said. "But once the Games are over, I hope the same people would give me the credit."
Few expect the former air force pilot, who fought in two wars against Pakistan in 1965 and 1971, to survive on the Indian sports scene after the Games.
Kalmadi, who headed the Athletics Federation of India from 1989 to 2006, has served as president of the Indian Olympic Association since 1996.
He has already been targeted by the sports ministry, which has ruled that the country's top officials cannot remain in their post for more than 12 years or beyond the age of 70.
"These guidelines are uncalled for," a defiant Kalmadi said. "If there had been a dialogue, we could have probably accepted that. But this diktat (policy) we cannot follow."
Former Indian Olympians, headed by ex-hockey captain Pargat Singh, wrote to the International Olympic Committee in June describing Kalmadi as a "serious threat to the very foundation of the values of sports".
"During the last few decades, some people have been using sports as a vehicle to gain political power and satisfy their greed, keeping sportspersons as mere bystanders," the letter said.
"Indian sports has become a vehicle for Kalmadi's power and glory." - AFP/fa
Kalmadi, the face of the troubled Games, has not been seen or heard of since revelations broke over the "filthy" state of the athletes' village and a footbridge collapsed near the main stadium.
Indian media reported that the 66-year-old member of parliament from the ruling Congress party had been asked to keep a low profile by the government.
Kalmadi, who chairs the Games organising committee, was not part of a high-powered delegation led by cabinet secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar, which visited the village Tuesday after delegations complained it was "unfit for human habitation".
It is unusual for the highly visible Kalmadi to stay out of the spotlight but as the October 3 opening ceremony nears and the crisis deepened, he remained sequestered in his office at the plush Games headquarters in central Delhi.
The man who promised the "best ever" Commonwealth Games and an athletes village "better" than the one at the Beijing Olympics initially had his wings clipped in mid-August.
At that time, with the Games organisation already facing mounting criticism, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gave overriding powers to a group of ministers to oversee the preparations.
The move followed a report by the Central Vigilance Commission on rampant corruption, although Kalmadi himself was not personally implicated.
Kalmadi told reporters earlier this month that he was willing to face any criticism or government inquiry as long as the Games went off well.
"I don't mind people blaming me," he said. "But once the Games are over, I hope the same people would give me the credit."
Few expect the former air force pilot, who fought in two wars against Pakistan in 1965 and 1971, to survive on the Indian sports scene after the Games.
Kalmadi, who headed the Athletics Federation of India from 1989 to 2006, has served as president of the Indian Olympic Association since 1996.
He has already been targeted by the sports ministry, which has ruled that the country's top officials cannot remain in their post for more than 12 years or beyond the age of 70.
"These guidelines are uncalled for," a defiant Kalmadi said. "If there had been a dialogue, we could have probably accepted that. But this diktat (policy) we cannot follow."
Former Indian Olympians, headed by ex-hockey captain Pargat Singh, wrote to the International Olympic Committee in June describing Kalmadi as a "serious threat to the very foundation of the values of sports".
"During the last few decades, some people have been using sports as a vehicle to gain political power and satisfy their greed, keeping sportspersons as mere bystanders," the letter said.
"Indian sports has become a vehicle for Kalmadi's power and glory." - AFP/fa
