An Indian police officer hits news photographer Shekhar Ghosh, right, from the Hindi newspaper Dainik Bhaskar, during a protest against corruption by supporters of opposition BJP at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Aug. 9.
Police used bamboo batons and water canons to control thousands of angry supporters of India�s main opposition party who were marching in New Delhi to protest against the government�s hosting of last year�s Commonwealth Games, among other corruption charges.
In a final report that could result in criminal prosecutions, Auditors slammed India�s preparations and conduct of the Commonwealth Games last year as �deeply flawed, riddled with favoritism and vastly more expensive than planned�. (AP photo)
New Delhi (Reuters)
Thousands of opposition activists marched on parliament on Tuesday demanding the resignation of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit over corruption, the latest move to pressure the beleaguered government to act. A series of high-profile scandals has eroded trust and stymied policymaking in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh�s administration in recent months. The opposition also staged a protest inside parliament forcing its closure at a time when it is slated to introduce reform legislation including one on easier land acquisitions.
The protests came on the same day as a nationwide survey published in a newspaper said a majority of Indians see their civil servants and lawmakers as the most corrupt groups in the country, comfortably beating business leaders. Nearly two-thirds of respondents saw Singh�s government as �very corrupt� or �somewhat corrupt�, while many said his coalition�s handling of anti-graft movements was �insincere�.
Demonstrators led by the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made speeches and shouted slogans in front of police barricades outside parliament.
They accused the ruling Congress party of double-standards for failing to sack Dikshit over graft allegations in the 2010 Commonwealth Games. �Why are they covering up corruption?� BJP�s President Nitin Gadkari said in a speech.
A poll by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies published in The Hindu newspaper ranked politicians as the most corrupt group with 43 percent, in a list which also included judges and bureaucrats.
Only 3 percent saw business people as the most corrupt, despite the fact that executives have been arrested or questioned by police in connection with graft scandals. �A spate of corruption scandals in high places, accentuated by high-profile anti-corruption movements, have taken a toll on the government�s image, especially among the more educated and articulate sections,� the Hindu newspaper wrote on Tuesday, commenting on the survey.
Petty corruption is a fact of life for hundreds of millions of Indians who need to pay bribes for anything from a passport to a gas connection, but a string of billion-dollar scandals has sparked widespread anger against the government. The Congress party has come under fire for what activists say is a cynical response to mass anti-graft movements that sprouted this year. The government says the protests were undemocratic and should not be allowed to dictate policy.
A mass fast led by yoga guru Swami Ramdev was broken up by what many saw as a heavy-handed police raid in June. Activists have also criticised the government for what they see as watering down an anti-corruption bill, which is due to be introduced into parliament in this session.
The think-tank CSDS interviewed 20,268 people, the majority of them in rural India. The survey suggested that information on the scandals was slow to trickle down from New Delhi. Only 27 percent had even heard of Andimuthu Raja, perhaps the most famous casualty of the scandals, a former telecoms minister facing trial.
In a separate question, 25 percent of all respondents saw a police station as the most corrupt office, more than courts, hospitals or village councils. The Congress party�s top brass has vowed to clamp down on corruption in government, but Singh has been criticised for appearing too weak to root out graft and too eager to pin the blame on individuals or on his party�s allies.
�Instead of pinning the entire blame on those already caught out, the United Progressive Alliance government should strive to restore the people�s confidence in the system,� a separate editorial piece in the Hindu newspaper said on Tuesday. The corruption saga has dented investor confidence and smothered reforms such as on land acquisition that could help maintain the momentum of one of the world�s fastest-growing economies, which has showed signs of slowdown.