New Delhi - India's Hindu-nationalist coalition government was resisting calls for its resignation yesterday following an incriminating arms bribery scandal involving senior politicians, civil servants and military officers, writes Rahul Bedi. The "sting operation" run over seven months by journalists from the news and entertainment portal Tehelka.com posing as arms dealers, has already led to the resignation of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party leader Mr Bangaru Laxman who was secretly filmed in his office accepting Rs 100,000 (£1,470).
Four defence ministry and army officials, including the additional director general of weapons and equipment, MajGen P.S.K. Chaudhary, have also been suspended for accepting bribes in the documentary, allegedly to further the prospects of West End, a fake London-based armaments manufacturer selling non-existent hand-held thermal imaging systems. The three others are from the defence ministry and the Ordnance Factory Board.