Briefly noted

KALMADI says won’t RESIGN
Games Organising Committee (OC) chairman Suresh Kalmadi on Friday refused to step down despite widescale corruption allegations against the OC,insisting that he might consider such a move only after the event if asked by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. “I am not thinking about resigning. The investigation is on. I am not quitting. We are doing a great job,” Kalmadi said.

Darbari had cleared stand in Baton relay
A day before OC suspended services of T S Darbari as joint director general,he had submitted detailed letters and documents to the Sports Secretary explaining his stand in the launch of Queen’s Baton Relay in London. In the August 4 letter,Darbari said: “Record shows that I am not a signatory to any of the decisions taken for engaging… items required for the event on hire from AM Car and Van Hire and AM Films.”

Catering consultant resigns as well
The OC catering department the has been hit by fresh trouble,as catering consultant Ajay Grover tendered his resignation on Wednesday,although Chairman Suresh Kalmadi has not yet accepted his resignation. In his letter,Grover cited health reasons. OC has sent out three tenders at present. Kalmadi said August 10 is the last date for clearing all catering contracts.

Games critics take over book launch
Anti-Games criticism took centrestage at the Gandhi Peace Foundation on Friday. Chief guest Mani Shankar Aiyar failed to show up at the gathering to launch a book titled ‘Common vs. Wealth’,but BJP bigwig Vijay Goel launched into a diatribe against the government and the OC. He did not spare even Aiyar,who has also strongly opposed the Games.