NEW DELHI – Indias prime minister defended his embattled government against a string of corruption scandals today, saying the allegations would be thoroughly investigated and those involved would be punished, no matter their position. Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs government has been wracked by allegations that Cabinet ministers and ruling party officials orchestrated shady deals over the sale of cellular phone licenses, presided over faulty preparations for the Commonwealth Games and were involved in other misdeeds that cost India billions of dollars.
The scandals have dominated politics here for months and battered Indias global reputation at a time Singh has sought to present his country as a rising international power. The entire winter session of parliament was paralyzed by opposition demands for the establishment of joint parliamentary probe, which Singh refused. Singh told reporters during a news conference Wednesday that the guilty would be punished. "I wish to assure you, and I wish to assure the country as a whole that our government is dead serious in bringing to book all the wrongdoers, regardless of the positions they may occupy," he said. Singh, a 78-year-old professorial economist, is widely seen as one of the most upright politicians in the country. Though he has not been accused of benefiting from any of the scandals, his reputation has been tarnished.