Loyalists won’t give up on Kalmadi, come together for show of support

Several Congress party members stand by their leader even as BJP and Sena demand Pune MP's resignation from Lok Sabha

Loyalists won't give up on Kalmadi, come together for show of support

Several Congress party members stand by their leader even as BJP and Sena demand Pune MP's resignation from Lok Sabha

After news of city MP Suresh Kalmadi's arrest broke yesterday, reactions from politicians were heard at the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the Congress Bhavan. While Kalmadi's party workers passed a resolution at Congress Bhavan pledging their support for the beleaguered leader, the BJP and the Shiv Sena were quite vocal about their demand for his resignation from the Lok Sabha at demonstrations held at the PMC.

Show of support: City Congress leaders and supporters along with
close aides of MP Suresh Kalmadi gathered at Congress Bhavan after
CBI arrested Kalmadi yesterday. Pic/Jignesh.Mistry

According to reports, Kalmadi, who was chief of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, was arrested by the CBI for awarding a contract for the games to a Swiss company at an inflated rate.

Arun Bhatia, former IAS officer and a contestant in the last Lok Sabha election against Kalmadi, said, "Now, after the arrest of Kalmadi, the chargesheet should be strong enough. We can't trust the CBI, which has taken so long to arrest him. Kalmadi might get bail easily. The CBI took so long to conduct raids."

Vikas Mathakari, former BJP leader of opposition in the civic house, said, "Since Kalmadi has been suspended from the Congress, he should immediately resign as MP. The BJP agitation will continue till Kalmadi resigns."
The Shiv Sena is supporting the BJP demand. Shyam Deshpande, group leader of the Shiv Sena in the PMC, said, "Kalmadi should be pressured to resign.u00a0 We are ready for an agitation to make this happen."

Kalmadi's residence in the city wore a deserted look and no one but the security guards were seen outside it.
Ramesh Bagwe, MLA and former minister of state for home affairs, said, "Unless and until the crime is proved, we can't say that Kalmadi has done anything wrong. We have full faith in the law of the land and we hope that justice will be served."

Abhay Chhajed, Congress city unit president, said, "We accept the high command's order suspending Kalmadi. Yes, his arrest will have some adverse effect in the forthcoming PMC elections, but I am sure that Kalmadi will be proven innocent and we will cash in on the situation to emerge victorious in the polls."

Chhajed added that it was unfair that Kalmadi had been arrested in spite of the fact that he had shown his readiness for interrogation by the CBI. "It is true that the CWG was an important and prestigious event for India, but Kalmadi has been targeted unnecessarily in this case," said Chhajed.