Vivek Shukla
New Delhi: In a new low for Suresh Kamadi,a slipper was hurled at former CWG organising committee in the Patiala House Court complex here on Tuesday. It is said that he hails from MP and recently came to capital.
It may be recalled that even in the past the likes of former US president George Bush, Union Finance minister P.Chidambram and Navin Jindal have also suffered the ignominy.
A man threw the slipper at Kalmadi as he entered the court complex for being produced before a special CBI court. The person, identified as Manoj Sharma, was immediately detained. Kalmadi was being taken for production before a special CBI court after being arrested yesterday for his alleged
involvement in irregularities in Commonwealth Games projects. He has been charged with cheating, conspiracy and corruption in connection with awarding some Games contracts. The Congress MP has been accused of awarding illegal contracts to a Swiss firm for Timing-Scoring-Result (TSR) system for the Games causing a loss of Rs 95 crore to the exchequer.
Meanwhile, Vociferous Congress activists belonging to the anti-Suresh Kalmadi faction blackened the face of the tainted MP`s image before tearing down his poster here in an act that said it all. The ransacking of Kalmadi`s cabin in the Congress Bhavan by his own party men after his arrest in the Commonwealth Games scam and subsequent suspension last night, symbolised
the fall from grace of one of the most high profile MPs, who represented the city thrice in the Lok Sabha, apart from serving four Rajya Sabha terms in the last three decades.
"It was a spontaneous reaction of Congress workers in the city staging a protest against a corrupt person suspended by the party which has zero tolerance for corruption in public life," said MLC Mohan Joshi, a prominent city Congress leader. Joshi has been locked in a long political rivalry with
Kalmadi after failing to get a party ticket to contest the Lok Sabha seat in 2004 and 2009.
Opposition parties including the BJP, Shiv Sena and MNS too staged protest demonstrations condemning Kalmadi for "tarnishing" the image of Pune which he represented in the Parliament.
"Suresh Kalmadi, resign. We are ashamed of you", said a hoarding displayed by BJP corporators demanding Kalmadi`s resignation as MP.