By George Joseph

New Delhi,Sep 25 (IANS) India's opposition party leaders, cutting across political formations, say Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his senior ministers were " equally responsible for the mess and delays " in the preparations for the Commonwealth Games to be held here Oct 3-14.

"The bucks stop at the doorsteps of Manmohan Singh and the Group of Ministers(GOM) he had appointed to oversee the Games" Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman told IANS.

"They cannot escape by just blaming the organising committee (OC) of the Games and its chief Suresh Kalmadi" she added.

"The corruption and delay in the Games preparations were exposed by the media and vigilance agencies months before. Still, the Prime Minister and the government could not do anything other than allowing the drift to continue and allow the OC to remain unaccountable " the BJP leader said.

Sitharaman said Manmohan Singh had the "prime responsibility to restore the national honour, even at this eleventh hour .It was he who had asked a Group of Ministers (GOM) led by Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy in August to oversee the Games' preparations."

"The failure of the top leadership is so apparent that neither the appointment of the GOM nor the delegation of duties to a dozen-odd senior bureaucrats could speed up the preparations or get the Games Village and the venues ready in time," she added.

"Meanwhile, Kalmadi was allowed to continue in his unaccountable style. However, the government should realise it was their duty, and not the OC's, to build the Village and infrastructure ".

The BJP leader said the "top brass - the prime minister, the senior ministers and the top bureaucrats - cannot shy away from their failures and make some small officials the scapegoats for the embarassment and shame it has brought to India in the international circles."

The opposition remarks came amidst criticism by several countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada and England , about the "filthy and unlivable" conditions in the Games village. Security concerns were also raised by sports officials of some countries.

Several countries delayed the departure of their contingents to Delhi in the wake of reports of poor and filthy conditions in the Village.

Manmohan Singh, who chaired a review meeting on Thursday, had directed that the Village should be ready by Friday-Saturday. Sports Minister M S Gill, minister Reddy, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit , Delhi's Lt Governor Tejinder Khanna and National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon were among those who attended the meeting.

About 7,000 athletes and officials from 71 countries and territories are scheduled to attend the CWG , the biggest sports event to be held in India after the 1982 Asian Games.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) also vehemently criticised the government for the "total mess" it had created regarding the Games preparations.

"Manmohan Singh and Sheila Dikshit and senior Central ministers cannot escape responsibility," CPI-M politburo member M K Pandhey told IANS.

The CPI-M leader alleged that "most of the contractors who were given CWG projects are politically well-connected people".

"That is why Dikshit and some central ministers strongly defend the pathetic construction works done by these contracors," he added.

Demanding a judicial probe into the Games affairs , Pandhey alleged that "huge amounts has been contributed into ruling parties' coffers".

Janata Dal (United) general secretary Javed Raza told IANS that the "Games fiasco was an example of the typical Manmohan Singh style".

"The prime minister passes on serious issues to GOMs and bureaucrats, who sit over them or handle them shoddily," he alleged. "During the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regime , then Prime Minister (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee" bagged the Games to enhance India's prestige". The present goverment has brought shame to India by the corrupt organisation of the Games," he said.

Communist Party of India (CPI) deputy general secretary S. Sudhakar Reddy told IANS that the "entire United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government was responsible for the "disastrous Games organmisation".

"If the Games preparations were on track, they would have taken credit. Like that, Manmohan Singh and the UPA should own up for the failures too," Reddy said.

All India Forward Bloc secretary G Devarajan said that his party would demand a detailed probe and fixing of responsibilites soon after the Games.

"We know that top brass of the political establishment is involved. Since the Games are events of national prestige, we are waiting for them to be over .The country should get the details of the scams and mismanagement the moment the Games are over," Devarajan told IANS.