Former Union minister and senior leader of the Indian National Congress Suresh Kalmadi has passed away in Pune at 81. Kalmadi was suffering from various ailments over a long period, and breathed his last at around 3:30 AM today, NDTV reported.
Who was Suresh Kalmadi?
Suresh Kalmadi gained political prominence in 1977 when he was appointed as the president of the Youth Congress in Pune. He took over the helm of the organisation for the entire state of Maharashtra the following year.
Kalmadi was a member of the Rajya Sabha for three terms, from 1982 to 1996, and was again elected to the house in 1998. He served as Minister of State for Railways from 1995 to 1996, under the Prime Minister-ship of P.V. Narsimha Rao, and even presented the Railway Budget.
Suresh Kalmadi was elected to the 11th Lok Sabha in 1996 and to the 14th Lok Sabha in 2004. The senior Congress leader served as the president of the Indian Olympic Association from 1996 to 2012. He was the president of the Asian Athletics Association from 2000 to 2013. Kalmadi was named Life President of the organisation in 2015.
Career laced with controversies
Suresh Kalmadi faced corruption charges over the 2010 Commonwealth Games after the Central Vigilance Commission asked the CBI to investigate. He was accused of irregularities in purchases and in awarding contracts.
The CBI arrested him in April 2011 in the Timing and Scoring case and filed charges of cheating and conspiracy. After this, he was suspended from the Congress party and removed as president of the Indian Olympic Association.
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Kalmadi spent about 10 months in jail. Though allowed to travel during the 2012 Olympics, he was stopped from attending the opening ceremony. He also faced allegations of conflict of interest in bringing Formula One to India.
