No South Asian Games under CWG-tainted officials: sports minister

Amid a conflict between the Indian Olympics Association and the government over the date for holding the South Asian Federation (SAF) games in Delhi, sports minister Ajay Maken said the government could not allow the South Asian Games to be held under an IOA headed by tainted officials. The IOA has no moral authority to seek funding from the government, he added for good measure.

The sports ministry had earlier written to IOA asking it to defer the regional games to the second half of 2014 rather than January 2013 as planned, particularly as Delhi state elections are due in 2013 and the model code of conduct would come into force.

V K Malhotra, the acting president of the IOA, reacted sharply on Thursday, strongly saying postponing the event at this stage will be a "standing shame" for the country.

"The reasons put forth by the sports ministry to defer the games by another year-and-a-half are laughable," Malhotra said in a statement.

Maken riposted strongly. ''There are criminal investigations going on against these (IOA) officials,'' he said in an obvious reference to the Commonwealth Games scam which has led to the jailing of former IOA chief and Congress leader Suresh Kalmadi, long the czar of athletics and Olympic sports in India despite his patent incompetence.

''Huge amounts of public funds were misused and misappropriated by them (IOA and Commonwealth Games officials),'' the sports minister. ''How can the government trust the same tainted officials unless they come clean or get themselves cleared?'' he said on the sidelines of a function on Thursday.