Suresh Kalmadi, Former Pune MP and Sports Administrator, Passes Away
New Delhi: Former Union minister of state Suresh Kalmadi died on Tuesday (January 6) following a prolonged illness at the age of 81, PTI quoted his family as saying. A former member of parliament from Pune and former Congress leader, he implemented several developmental projects over the course of his political journey.
Kalmadi was a member of the Rajya Sabha for three terms from 1982 to 1986 and again in 1998. He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1996. In 1998, he contested the Lok Sabha elections as a Pune Vikas Aghadi candidate (supported by the BJP and Shiv Sena) but lost. He was elected again in 2004.
During the Narasimha Rao-tenure, Kalmadi served as the Union minister of state for railways from 1995-1996.
An Air Force veteran-turned-politician and sports administrator, Kalmadi also served as the president of Indian Olympics Association from 1996 to 2011. It was during his term that Delhi hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2010.
Though a major achievement, the hosting was marred by corruption charges and infrastructure issues that prompted some prominent nations to opt out of the event. He was arrested in the CWG scam, and subsequently suspended from the Congress. On April 26, 2011 he was sacked from the post of president of IOA.
He also served as the president of Asian Athletics Association from 2000 to 2013, and was named its ‘life president’ in 2015.
He also played an instrumental role in the development of Pune city.
Congress’s city spokesperson Ramesh Iyer told The Indian Express, “Pune’s development in real terms started in 1992 when Kalmadi was leading the party with a young brigade of corporators who were elected to the Pune Municipal Corporation.”
“He implemented several development projects. It was Kalmadi who had taken the initiative to organise the National Games in 1992 in Pune, which further boosted the city’s development,” Iyer said.
He further noted Kalmadi’s active role in starting the Pune Festival, held during the 10-day Ganesh festival, which draws huge crowds from around the world.
After his suspension from Congress, Kalmadi stepped away from the public. Many believe that the CWG scam overshadowed all his previous achievements.
A Congress leader told the daily that it was his disappearance from active politics that brought the Congress down in Pune. “Without Kalmadi not holding the reins, Congress fared badly in Pune Lok Sabha, assembly and civic elections,” the leader said.
Kalmadi is survived by his wife, two daughters, son and grandchildren.
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