Vijay Goel is an OC member!

Senior BJP leader is one of the organisers of the Commonwealth Games, as per his accreditation card

Senior BJP leader is one of the organisers of the Commonwealth Games, as per his accreditation card

In what may spell a setback to the BJP offensive on Congress regarding the Commonwealth Games 'scam', senior party leader Vijay Goel has an accreditation card that identifies him as a member of the Organising Committee (OC).

The former union sports minister and his wife both were issued accreditation cards by the OC. While Goel's card, under T2 category, says he is a member of the OC, the one given to his wife Preeti identifies her as 'accompanying guest'. Copies of both the cards are in MiD DAY's possession.

Goel is the second BJP leader who could be targeted by the Congress. Another party leader Sudhanshu Mittal's role in the scam is already under probe.

Last year in December, in a press conference held in Delhi, Goel had claimed that he was expelled from the Organising Committee for taking up the matter of delayed projects for the CWG.

"I don't understand your objection. I am a former sports minister. When everybody else is watching the Games, I should also be allowed," he said, evading further queries. Vijay Goel was Minister of state, Sports and Youth Affairs, in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee cabinet when India won the bid for hosting the Commonwealth Games 2010.

The Other Side

When contacted, Goel said, "I do not know who issued the accreditation card to me. I don't know why they issued a card which was reserved for the OC members."
OC secretary general and spokesperson Lalit Bhanot said, " I am not aware of it. I will have to check with the department concerned."

Classified

T1 category accreditation cards were issued to Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF)officials and some top officials from India apart from atheletes. T2 category covered non-Board members of the CGF who also have unhindered access to venues. They were being given cars on request. Families of athletes and support staff were also authorised under T2 category.
Of the total requirement of 1,800 vehicles, about 500 were with T1. These were fitted with GPS and other security devices. The remaining were under T2.

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We told you so

MiD DAY had earlier reported about a massive scam in the issuance of accreditation cards that would have seriously compromised the overall security.
The Organising Committee had issued 1,42,000 accreditation cards to people across categories including security staff, doctors, media and other officials. However, for 62,000 cards, no police verifications were done.
It would be pertinent to note here that these cards allowed unrestricted entry to the Games venues and village.
Many security personnel, including those from Delhi police and paramilitary personnel, healthcare staff and media persons were refused accreditation cards citing various reasons.
MiD DAY has been digging out the reasons behind scarcity of tickets and complimentary passes for the CWG.
The total number of accreditation cards issued was much more than original plan.
In fact, the OC members and staff had issued many accreditation cards to their friends including senior bureaucrats and their family members to oblige them. This was one of the reasons OC brought down the number of tickets to be printed MiD DAY had earlier reported.