Guilty will be punished after CWG: Sonia (Second Lead)

NEW DELHI - Breaking her silence on the corruption cloud surrounding the Commonwealth Games, Congress president Sonia Gandhi Thursday said those found guilty would be punished after the Games and exhorted everyone to make the event successful.

“The Commonwealth Games are just a few days away. This is the time for all of us to come together and ensure their success. The success of the Games is that of our country - not of any party or of any individual,” Gandhi said in her address to the Congress Parliamentary Party.

She said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had intervened decisively in the Games preparation.

“The prestige of the nation is involved. Let us not forget this even as we take steps to ensure accountability,” Gandhi added.

She said the government would look into allegations concerning the Games after the event was over and punish those found guilty.

“I trust that as soon as the Games are over the government will look into the allegations of malpractice and spare no one found to be involved in them,” she said.

Manmohan Singh had Saturday issued clear instructions that the facilities for the Commonwealth Games be made ready in time and meet international standards as the “eyes of the world” were on the country.

He had asked the Group of Ministers (GOM) for the Games headed by Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy to hold frequent meetings to supervise the preparations.

The prime minister had directed the concerned ministries to conduct thorough investigations into all the complaints that had been received of procedural and other irregularities and said those found guilty should face severe and exemplary punishment.