Indian PM vows to press on despite scandals

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh vowed on Wednesday to stay in office to press ahead with reforms, denying a series of massive corruption scandals had made him a lame duck leader.

Allegations the government may have lost up to $39 billion in revenues after firms were awarded telecoms deals at rock-bottom prices in return for kickbacks have caused months of parliamentary paralysis, rocked the ruling coalition, and rattled India's markets.

"Whatever some people may say, that we are a lame duck government, that I am a lame duck prime minister, we take our job very seriously," an often frail-looking Singh, 78, said in a rare media roundtable with TV editors to improve his worsening image.

"We are here to govern, and to govern effectively. Tackle the problems as they arise and get this country moving forward."

That Singh was forced to deny talk of resignation underscored both the gravity of the scandals and how Singh's decision-making has been paralyzed in his second term despite winning re-election in 2009 with an increased majority.

The last parliamentary session was halted by opposition protests demanding a probe into the telecoms scam, effectively stopping any reform bills such as one to make land acquisition easier for both industry and farmers.

"I never felt like resigning because I have a job to do ... I will stay the course," Singh said in comments broadcast live.

Foreign investors have pulled hundreds of millions of dollars from the Indian stock market since the start of the year, while foreign direct investment (FDI) has fallen for three consecutive years, from 2.9 percent of GDP in 2008/09 to around 1.8 percent of GDP in 2010/11.

Some of this is connected with the global economic slowdown, but regulatory uncertainty may also be a factor.

"This sort of atmosphere is not good. It saps our own self-confidence. It also spoils the image of India," Singh said over the corruption scams, but he denied they had impacted FDI.

For more than an hour, editors peppered Singh with questions about why he had failed to act on corruption cases and why probes had taken so long. On each question, Singh, looking defensive and rattled, denied wrongdoing, and often referred to a prepared written statement.

The next general election is still three years away and Singh has opportunities to regain the initiative, whether through spending on social welfare programs or doing better than expected in state elections.

In Wednesday's broadcast, Singh at times gave the impression of indecision, such when he replied when asked why he did not act quickly over problems in the allocation of telecom licenses between 2007 and 2008.

"Although complaints were coming in, although complaints were coming from all sides, some from companies not benefiting (from the telecoms spectrum allocation) ... I was not in a position to make up my mind that anything seriously was wrong," Singh said.(Reuters)