NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has turned to India’s top legal official to represent him at the Supreme Court over why he failed to probe what is emerging as one of the country’s biggest corruption scams.
The last minute change to have the attorney general represent the prime minister suggests increased concern within ruling Congress party circles over a widening scandal that has touched both political and corporate India.
The Prime Minister’s Office confirmed the change, but declined to give further information.
Telecoms Minister Andimuthu Raja was sacked at the weekend over accusations he sold telecoms licences too cheaply, potentially losing the state up to $31 billion in revenues, according to a government audit. Raja has denied the accusations.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court took a rare step of publicly criticising Singh’s slowness in deciding if Raja should be charged and investigated, a blow to the image of a prime minister seen as one of the country’s most honest politicians.
“Manmohan Singh has certainly squandered some moral capital over this spectrum scandal,” said an editorial in The Indian Express yesterday.
“The image of integrity is arguably the biggest strength he has, and by letting this scam fester for so long, the prime minister and the Congress party have put that at risk.”
