Kalmadi determined to find the conman of XIX CWG 2010

Wednesday, 04 August, 2010 DD News
Under-pressure Kalmadi says ready for CAG or judicial probe

Cornered by allegations of corruption in the CWG preparations, under- fire Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi has said he is ready to face any CAG or judicial probe into the financial transactions related to the event.

"I, as Chairman of the Organising Committee, am prepared to face any scrutiny by (Comptroller and Auditor General) CAG or even a judicial probe for all financial transactions being reported by the media. All the people found guilty will be punished and brought to book," Kalmadi said in a statement on Wednesday.

Kalmadi's statement came a day after more allegations of irregularities and the Indian High Commission's e-mails being 'doctored' came to light. The Congress party also distanced itself from the Pune MP.

Kalmadi reiterated that the all transactions were carried out by the full approval of the OC's various finance committee and he did not have any individual say on these matters.

"The financial procedures at the Organising Committee are well laid down and transparent. Any proposal that is prepared by the Functional Area Head first gets vetted by the OC Finance Committee which has two representatives of Government of India, and after that it is referred to Finance Sub-Committee, comprising of three Senior representatives of Government of India," he explained.

"Thereafter, the proposals are submitted to the Executive Board for its final approval. Chairman OC, in his individual capacity, does not have any financial powers," he added.

Kalmadi said, nonetheless, he has taken note of the various reported bunglings.

"60 days are left for the start of XIX Commonwealth Games 2010 to be held in New Delhi and 43 days for Games Village to open when about 8000 athletes and Officials from all continents of the world start arriving to participate in the Games," Kalmadi said.

"During the last week, media has come out with various stories regarding the irregularities in the orders/ procurement etc. of QBR Launch Function at London/Overlays and association of M/S Sports Marketing and Management (SMAM) in obtaining the Sponsorship for the games.

"I have taken a serious note of these reports and appointed a three member committee headed by Mr. Jarnail Singh, the Chief Executive Officer and two members, Mr. G. C. Chaturvedi, Special Director General and Ms. Gurjot Kaur Chief Vigilance Officer of Organising Committee to look into all the details of QBR Launch Function, Overlays and SMAM issues. The Committee has been asked to submit its report by August 5, 2010," the statement read.

The Indian Olympic Association chief was left red-faced on Tuesday when the Ministry of External Affairs said that the e-mails from the Indian High Commission that he made public to justify huge payments to a UK-based firm were 'doctored'.

His back against the wall, Kalmadi has been isolated in the OC as well with some his own colleagues demanding an emergency meeting to discuss allegations of corruption, which have also been highlighted in a Central Vigilance Commission report. (DD-4.8)
Under-pressure Kalmadi says ready for CAG or judicial probe

Mani Shankar Aiyar airs views to ensure a "clean and successful" CWG 2010
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MEA attempt to reduce corruption in the Passport Offices

Wednesday, August 04, 2010
The Government has launched the Passport Seva Project at four Pilot sites in Karnataka on May 28, 2010 under the jurisdiction of Regional Passport Office, Bangalore. This will be followed by launch at three Pilot sites (Chandigarh, Ambala and Ludhiana) under the jurisdiction of Regional Passport Office, Chandigarh. Following validation of the Pilot projects, the remaining 70 Passport Seva Kendras will be established across the country in a phased manner. Under the Passport Seva Project Scheme, the time target schedule for issue of passport under normal and Tatkal category is as follows:


This information was given by Shri S.M. Krishna, Minister of External Affairs, in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.
YSK:PM
Passport Seva Project

Pakistan bleeding India and the Dragon spewing fire

Fighting a ‘limited war’: It is a flawed concept? by Lt-Gen Harwant Singh (retd)

IT is not clear as to when the idea or the concept of a “limited war” was first evolved and articulated. Maybe it was the fallout from the procrastination, dithering and timidity in our response and an alibi for the missed opportunity of a suitable riposte to a major mischief by Pakistan at Kargil. Such response would have put an end to the slow-bleeding of India by Pakistan. Or was it the result of the fiasco of “Operation Parakaram” (mobilisation of Indian defence forces consequent to the attack on Indian Parliament) where we thought we could go in for a limited war and then backtracked on conjuring up the prospects of a larger conflagration? It takes a minimum of two contestants to make war. Therefore, both must subscribe to the idea of a limited war. It cannot work when one of the contestants does and the other does not fall for it.
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Another three years: Army Chief More Powerful Than The President
by Abhijit Bhattacharyya 02 Aug 2010
ISI head as chief
NO Pakistani army officer can match Kayani’s professional experience and exposure. He has held all the important and sensitive “India-centric” commands. As a Major- General, he commanded the 12th Infantry Division, Murree, deployed to all over the Line of Control. This was followed by a three-year stint as Director-General, Military Operations from December 2000 to September 2003. On promotion as Lt.-General in September 2003 Kayani became commander of Rawalpindi’s X Corps for a year and then Director-General, ISI, for three years (October 2004 to October 2007). On his elevation in 2007, Kayani became the first ISI chief, in the history of Pakistan, to become the army chief.
One of the most crucial aspects of Kayani’s career is his connection with the US armed forces. He has done the Infantry Officer Advanced Course in United States Army Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia; the US Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and Asia-Pacific Centre for Security Studies, Honolulu, Hawaii. The US administration welcomed his appointment as army chief, notably the then CIA chief Michael Hayden, the National Intelligence Director, Mike McConnell, and the Central Command Chief, Admiral William Fallon. The US military high command even predicted that being a “soldier’s soldier”, the Pakistani army under Kayani would perform much better than his predecessor Pervez Musharraf.
Thus, Kayani’s apparently “apolitical” and professional image gave him a distinct advantage. It enhanced his acceptability to the quarrelling politicians of Pakistan. “Civilians” may constitute the “boss-in-front”, but Kayani remains the fulcrum and the invisible centre-of-gravity. Kayani asserted himself when he removed Musharraf’s men from sensitive positions in September 2008. He changed four of the nine Corps Commanders and appointed a new head of the ISI. He always consults civilian leaders, and Zardari and Gilani have no reason to complain. When Zardari offered to send the ISI chief to New Delhi for discussions in the immediate aftermath of 26/11, Kayani turned down the proposal. The President’s failure made Kayani politically more powerful than his own Head of State.
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East of Singapore August 03, 2010
Nitin Pai demystifies the anarchy of international relations
Global Times, an English language daily newspaper owned by the People's Daily, Communist Party of China's mouthpiece, devoted an astonishing 11 of its 22 editorials last month to threatening the United States, South Korea, Vietnam and Southeast Asian countries for challenging China in the western Pacific. The strident criticism rose into a crescendo last week, with the newspaper delivering a thinly-veiled military threat. "China's long-term strategic plan should never be taken as a weak stand, " it warned, and while "[it] is clear that military clashes would bring bad results to all countries in the region involved, but China will never waive its right to protect its core interest with military means."Using state-controlled media to send signals to other countries is an old trick. In this case it allows the Chinese government to make the threat, yet claim that it is honouring its commitments under its 2002 agreement with ASEAN, where the parties pledged to "undertake to resolve their territorial and jurisdictional disputes by peaceful means, without resorting to the threat or use of force, through friendly consultations and negotiations by sovereign states directly concerned."
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