India parliament impasse unbroken

Manmohan SinghMr Singh has said anyone found guilty over the scandal would be punished
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India’s government has called an all-party meeting to break a parliamentary deadlock over opposition demands for an inquiry into an alleged telecoms scam.

Parliament has been adjourned for two weeks because of the stand-off.

Telecommunications minister A Raja quit last week, denying claims that he had undersold mobile phone licences by billions of dollars.

The government has ruled out a joint inquiry, saying “impartial” agencies were already investigating.

Correspondents say the widening scandal involving the allocation of second-generation (2G) mobile phone licences is fast becoming a major challenge for the Indian government.

The opposition has blocked parliamentary business for days, with legislation unable to be passed.

The all-party meeting is scheduled for 0730 GMT, opposition leader Sushma Swaraj said.

It was not immediately clear whether the opposition parties would agree to the meeting with the government.

Over the weekend Prime Minister Manmohan Singh rejected accusations that he had acted too slowly over prosecuting Mr Raja.

India’s Supreme Court wanted Mr Singh to explain 16 months of “alleged inaction” over a scandal involving the sale of mobile phone licences.

Mr Singh said anyone found guilty over the scandal would be punished.

Mr Raja had presided over the world’s fastest growing mobile market; there are about half a billion mobile phone subscribers in India.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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