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Commonwealth Games

With corruption charges making headlines ahead of the Commonwealth Games, Sports Minister MS Gill said if anyone is found guilty he would be definitely brought to book.

"Yes, that is our duty...the basic duty. Me and the officers are working together...of course (they would be punished, if any)," Gill said.

The Sports Minister also said that it is the duty of the authorities concerned to reply the queries of the countrymen regarding the allegations of corruptions related to various Games projects.

"If that is so then there are authorities to answer.

There is the Ministry of Urban Development and authorities of the Delhi government... We have major stadia and in future if anything short is found or in an RTI anybody asks, it is on the Organising Committee, the IOA and all sports federations, people must answer," Gill said.

"And if links are attached to the Sports Ministry we are responsible, I don't have any problem," he added.

Foul practices in the issuance of various Games projects came to light recently after the Central Vigilance Commission had asked the CBI to register a corruption case against some MCD officials in connection with irregularities in a tender issued worth several crores.

"If there is any complete report, you look at it and try to act and answer on it. Those happen to relate as they come to me like the stadia or the work with the SAI and CPWD, of course we would act in a hurry. But those involved, the DDA and the Delhi government, those they have to look into it," Gill told CNN-IBN.

Gill also lamented the delay made in the start of the construction work for the Games even as various authorities are fighting against time to complete the infrastructure for the October 3-14 sporting extravaganza to be held here.

He said had the construction work been started eight years ago when the country won the bid for the quadrennial event, by now India would have been ready to host the Games.

"From 2003 its almost eight years. We could have built all these staff twice and thrice over. We should have started earlier, what else can I say," Gill said as the authorities are struggling to get the National capital ready for the Games with little over 60 days to go. .

"Even the bridge to bring these athletes from the Games village, which is 15kms away, was not ideal in my view right from the beginning, and is going to be ready only in August or it may even slip a bit," Gill said.

However, Gill was reluctant to put the blame on anyone and hoped that the capital would host a successful Commonwealth Games.

"Single supreme point of authority does not exist this time. I blame nobody, each one is supposed to deliver on his own," he said.

"I am hopeful that we will have a good Commonwealth Games but I am not a God. I will look for it on the 15th of October when the wedding party has left and the girl has gone home happy," Gill said.

The Minister assured that the works in stadia would be finished on time after which it is the Organising Committee's responsibility to conduct the event.

"I sometimes feel I finished my job, which is to get the stadia done...and the thing lacking in them will be done in the coming weeks," he said.

"Now the Games -- 14 to 15 thousand athletes for 15 days, even their travel arrangements...to India and back at our cost, that is to be done by the Organising Committee," he added.

Games hit by yet another controversy

Yet another controversy broke out over Games related projects with the Indian High Commission in London writing to the Indian government about a contract given to an event management firm in London.

This has been done in the wake of the British authorities referring to the High Commission a matter regarding A M Films, a London-based company, to which a huge some of money was transferred through the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Media reports have raised questions over the capacity of the firm to deliver a wide variety of projects reportedly entrusted to it by the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee.

High Commission sources said the information provided by the UK authorities had been forwarded to the Sports Ministry for follow up action.

"The UK authorities had referred some matter regarding A M Films to us. We passed on the information to the Indian government. The matter is now with the Indian government", a source in the Indian High Commission said.

There were reports that the Enforcement Directorate has been asked to go into the issue but there was no official confirmation.

There was no confirmation from the Sports Ministry on the development with Sports Secretary Sindhushree Khullar saying that she had no comments to make.

The Commonwealth Games Organising Committee officials also declined to make a comment, saying they needed to know all the facts before giving a statement.

The OC Secretary General Lalit Bhanot said he was not in a position to make a comment.

"I cannot make a statement without knowing all the facts.

I will have to check the papers. I know we had conducted an event in London but I can't say anything without looking into the files. The OC deals with so many people, I can't remember everything", he said.

"I will certainly give an answer but first let me go through the files", he said.