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[OS] CT/GV - Re: INDIA/ECON - Clashes erupt in Indian capital during anti-graft protest

Released on 2013-09-09 00:00 GMT

Email-ID 2097557 Date 2011-08-09 15:27:36 From michael.wilson@stratfor.com To os@stratfor.com

[OS] CT/GV - Re: INDIA/ECON - Clashes erupt in Indian capital

during anti-graft protest





On 8/9/11 8:14 AM, Michael Sher wrote:



Clashes erupt in Indian capital during anti-graft protest

09 Aug 2011 12:31

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/clashes-erupt-in-indian-capital-during-anti-graft-protest/



NEW DELHI, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Police fired water cannons and tear gas at

opposition party activists on the streets of the Indian capital on

Tuesday, as thousands of anti-government protesters rallied against the

ruling Congress party over corruption scandals.



Youth demonstrators from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) marched on

parliament demanding the resignation of a prominent ruling Congress

party politician over corruption, the latest move to pressure the

beleaguered government to act on graft.



A series of high-profile scandals has eroded trust and stymied

policymaking in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's administration in recent

months.



The opposition also staged a protest inside parliament forcing its

closure at a time when it is slated to introduce reform legislation

including one on easier land acquisitions.



The demonstrators were seeking the resignation of Delhi Chief Minister

Sheila Dikshit after a state auditor slammed costly tenders given to

questionable contractors for the 2010 Commonwealth Games on her

authority.



Dikshit has denied any wrongdoing.



Police wielding batons charged at the protesters after they jumped over

barricades and threw stones at police, according to a Reuters witness. A

Delhi police official told a local TV channel that 20-25 people had been

injured in the clashes.



"Please protest in a peaceful manner," Anurag Thakur, the leader of the

BJP's youth wing, appealed to the protesters. "We don't want our youth

to resort to such violent measures."



The protests came on the same day as a survey published in The Hindu

newspaper said a majority of Indians see their civil servants and

lawmakers as the most corrupt groups in the country, comfortably beating

business leaders.



Nearly two-thirds of respondents saw Singh's government as "very

corrupt" or "somewhat corrupt", while many said his coalition's handling

of anti-graft movements was "insincere", according to the poll conducted

by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies.



While 43 percent ranked politicians as the most corrupt, only 3 percent

saw business people as the most corrupt, despite the fact that

executives have been arrested or questioned by police in connection with

graft scandals.



"A spate of corruption scandals in high places, accentuated by

high-profile anti-corruption movements, have taken a toll on the

government's image, especially among the more educated and articulate

sections," the Hindu said.



SHIFTING THE BLAME?



Petty corruption is a fact of life for hundreds of millions of Indians

who need to pay bribes for anything from a passport to a gas connection,

but a string of billion-dollar scandals has sparked widespread anger

against the government.



The Congress party has come under fire for what activists say is a

cynical response to mass anti-graft movements that sprouted this year.

The government says the protests were undemocratic and should not be

allowed to dictate policy.



A mass fast led by a popular yoga teacher was broken up by what many saw

as a heavy-handed police raid in June. Activists have also criticised

the government for what they see as watering down an anti-corruption

bill, which is due to be introduced into parliament in this session.



The think-tank CSDS interviewed 20,268 people, the majority of them in

rural India for the survey on corruption.



The survey suggested that information on the scandals was slow to

trickle down from New Delhi. Only 27 percent had even heard of Andimuthu

Raja, perhaps the most famous casualty of the scandals, a former

telecoms minister facing trial.



In a separate question, 25 percent of all respondents saw a police

station as the most corrupt office, more than courts, hospitals or

village councils.



The corruption saga has dented investor confidence and smothered reforms

such as on land acquisition that could help maintain the momentum of one

of the world's fastest-growing economies, which has showed signs of

slowdown.



--

Michael Wilson

Director of Watch Officer Group, STRATFOR

Office: (512) 744 4300 ex. 4112

michael.wilson@stratfor.com









