INDIA’S Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh faces more political headaches after the Supreme Court pressed for deeper probes into a multi-billion dollar corruption case and a ruling coalition ally was implicated in the scandal.
Allegations the government may have lost up to $39bn (£24bn) in revenues after firms were awarded telecoms deals at rock-bottom prices in return for kickbacks have rocked the ruling coalition.
The Supreme Court told the federal police agency to go after more company executives and politicians and set up a special court to investigate India’s biggest graft case in decades.
One Indian company executive, a former telecoms minister and two other aides have been arrested in the scandal.
“They are part of a wider conspiracy,” a Supreme Court bench was quoted today by local media as saying.
“We have a large number of people who think themselves to be above the law. You must catch all of them. Merely because a person is in the Forbes list of millionaires and billionaires does not matter. Remember there is no parallel to this case."
The Supreme Court, along with an aggressive media buoyed by widespread voter anger at the scams, has kept investigations alive, halting any government attempts to stonewall probes and underlining a shift in power politics as India modernises.
A federal police lawyer told a court yesterday that in one instance companies linked to the scam had paid $47m (£29m) to a TV channel run by the regional DMK party, which helps the ruling coalition maintain its slim majority in parliament in Delhi.
The latest revelations will further tarnish the image of Dr Singh and his coalition. While the government will likely survive, the scandal has paralysed Dr Singh’s government, with the last parliamentary session closed due to opposition protests.
The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has said Dr Singh’s reliance on the DMK prevented him from probing the telecoms case.
The government appeared close to agreeing to a broad, cross-party investigation in the scandal, paving the way for parliament to resume as normal for a February 28 budget session.
But there were few signs the parliamentary session would lead to more reform bills.
