27 December,2010 08:37 AM IST | | Vivek Sabnis
After CBI raids on city MP's home, party avoids mentioning his name
After the CBI raids on Commonwealth Games organising committee chairman and city MP Suresh Kalmadi's residence and other properties in the city, it seems the Congress party is maintaining a safe distance from him.
Neither did Kalmadi show up for the 125th year celebrations of the party at Congress Bhavan in the city, nor was he mentioned by those present. This was the case in spite of the fact that Kalmadi is the only Congress politician from Pune to have made it to the Lok Sabha in the last general election.
If party insiders are to be believed, then it was a conscious decision to keep Kalmadi's name out of speeches to avoid controversy.
Janardan Dwivedi, all-India general secretary of the party, and Manikrao Thakare, state party president, not only omitted Kalmadi's name from their speeches but also would not talk to the media about the CBI raids.
"This is totally a legal process and as a party we can't make any comment on this," said Thakare.
Asked whether the party was giving a raw deal to Kalmadi in New Delhi, Dwivedi said he did not wish to comment.
During the event, Dwivedi mentioned the names of partymen Mohan Joshi and Anant Gadgil, who are known to be the rivals of Kalmadi.
On the city and its Congress connection, Dwivedi said the history of the Congress in the "city of knowledge, culture and wisdom" went back to the days of Lokmanya Tilak.
"I have been asked to be at the party celebrations by senior leaders and in keeping with the true tradition of the Congress, here I am in Pune," he said.
MLC Mohan Joshi was also careful not to name Kalmadi as he outlined his plans for the future.
"I have been in the Congress for the past 38 years. I seek the support of party workers as my priority is to work for the coming PMC election, and I want to make the Congress stronger," he said.
He declined to comment on whether he would seek a party ticket for the Pune seat in the next Lok Sabha election. Joshi had contested the Lok Sabha election in 1999, getting 2.2 lakh votes but losing to the BJP candidate.
Many known aides of Kalmadi remained absent from the Congress celebrations, including former minister of state for home Ramesh Bagwe.
