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Indian Prime Minister rejects calls for resignation

Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is taking the fight to the opposition over its demand for his government's resignation for alleged corruption.

South Asia correspondent Jonathan Harley reports.

Addressing a rally of his ruling coalition, the National Democratic Alliance in New Delhi, Prime Minister Vajpayee described his government's stand-off with the opposition as war.It was intended as a show of strength, while opposition-organised rallies were also held across India. Meanwhile, in a frank admission after a meeting of the national executive of his Bharatiya Janata Party, Mr Vajpayee acknowledged that there are shortcomings with the Indian bureaucracy, in which corruption is allowed to flourish. His government's been in crisis since secretly filmed footage was released nearly a fortnight ago, alleging an intricate system of kickbacks in the purchase of Indian defence equipment.

26/03/01 14:22:30 | ABC Radio Australia News

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