NEW DELHI -- Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee offered to resign on Tuesday as charges flew over the crisis engulfing the country's largest mutual fund manager. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan told reporters that the 74-year-old prime minister made his offer during a meeting with lawmakers from his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Party colleagues persuaded him to stay on. It came amid criticism of his fruitless peace-seeking summit with Pakistan earlier this month and a furore over the massive losses incurred by state-controlled Unit Trust of India (UTI).