BJP comes out with 'FIR' on CWG issue

Cartoons, number crunching, newspaper clippings and a plethora of allegations. This is what comprised the BJP's 'First Information Report (FIR) on Common Wealth Games Loot', a report prepared by the main opposition to target the government on the alleged financial scams related to the just-concluded sporting event.

Cartoons, number crunching, newspaper clippings and a plethora of allegations. This is what comprised the BJP's 'First Information Report (FIR) on Common Wealth Games Loot', a report prepared by the main opposition to target the government on the alleged financial scams related to the just-concluded sporting event.

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A cartoon in one of the opening pages has the CWG, New Delhi-2010 mascot 'shera' reading a newspaper that has scam printed all over the front page.

Another sketch in the report, that runs into hundreds of pages, features the Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi behind bars but the illustration is such that it appears that he is holding the newly-designed rupee logo.

The BJP's 'findings', circulated after party president Nitin Gadkari held a special press meet, also has an array of newspaper reports published during the run-up to the Games and also of the opening ceremony.

The main opposition's chronicle on the Games also questions Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, asking him if the "whole Cabinet is not responsible for the CWG chaos and corruption?".

A BJP media wing member said the party thought it had to come out with a unique tool if it wanted to hit the nail on the CWG corruption issue.

"The sketches are all by BJP members or workers and every one has worked day and night to bring this out." he said.

A portion of the report begins with a 'joint by-line' write-up titled 'corruption carnival' by Ravi Shankar and Mihir Srivastava.

The report goes into pages and pages of contracts related details, list of government departments involved in the CWG projects and also foreign firms that had a role in the numerous infrastructure schemes in the run-up to the Rs 70,000 -crore sporting extravaganza.

A sketch in the BJP report also tries to juxtapose the images of dirty toilets at the Games village and the dented impact on the economy due to the event. It features a beleaguered-looking prime minister standing along with a common man next to a gigantic leaking toilet.