India PM accepts responsibility over graft ruling

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said he accepted responsibility after the Supreme Court quashed his naming of a tainted civil servant as the country's chief anti-graft official.

Singh's statement in a televised press conference was another huge personal setback for the 78-year-old leader but it was unclear whether it would fulfil calls of an increasingly assertive opposition demanding he explain himself to parliament.

The controversy comes as Singh is trying to defend himself against a series of graft scandals, including a $39 billion telecoms licensing scam, that have called into question his ability to govern effectively Asia's third-largest economy.

"I have already said I respect the judgement of the Supreme Court," Singh told a televised press conference. "I accept my responsibility."

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), aiming to ride a wave of popular anger over the corruption scandals, seized on the verdict, demanding Singh accept responsibility and resign over the court's quashing of P.J. Thomas' appointment

Adding yet more pressure on the government, the Supreme Court, of late an outspoken critic of the government, on Thursday slammed its failure to crack down on large scale tax evaders. Singh has faced increasingly harsh questions about his leadership despite a reputation for personal integrity. But for the moment many analysts see his resignation as unlikely as it would probably lead to an early election and the defeat of the Congress party.

Singh chose Thomas as Central Vigilance Commissioner last September despite opposition then from a BJP leader who was a member of the three member panel that had the task of naming the anti-corruption chief.

Last month, the prime minister was forced to defend himself against accusations that he was a "lame duck" leader, soon before the government gave in to an opposition demand to set up a parliamentary investigation into the telecoms scam, considered to be India's biggest corruption scandal.

Regulatory concerns in India, combined with the global economic slowdown, have hit foreign direct investment and contributed to making the Mumbai stock exchange the worst performing of the world's major share markets.
 
The Supreme Court said the appointment of Thomas was made last year without taking into account a 1992 case in which he, as a state official, had been accused of signing a deal to import palm oil from Malaysia at inflated prices.

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