Indian PM Orders Inquiry Into Bribery Scandal
March 17, 2001 - 0:0
NEW DELHI -- Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee ordered a special inquiry by a serving or retired supreme court judge into the bribery scandal which has plunged his government into crisis, AFP said. In a recorded address to be broadcast on state-run Doordashan Television, Vajpayee said he would ask the chief justice to wrap up the inquiry "within four months," a Doordashan newscaster announced. The scandal which broke on Tuesday surrounds a website video expose of corruption in defense procurement circles, showing senior politicians, bureaucrats and army officials apparently taking bribes from journalists posing as arms dealers.