UPA-II regime invites wrath of opposition over corruption

Opposition parties in India trained guns at the ruling Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) on Wednesday over rampant corruption, even as the latter completed the fourth year of its second term in power.

A series of high-profile scandals has eroded trust and stymied policymaking in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's administration in recent months.

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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.

Refuting accusations, the Congress Party boasted of reducing poverty from 28 to 26 percent and giving more power to the common man by implementing the Right to Information Act (RTI).

"Today, the country's main opposition party is constantly levelling allegations at the Congress Party. However, amid so many challenges, the Congress Party has been successful in reducing poverty from 28 percent to 26 percent. Our party has also implemented the Right to Information (RTI) that directly benefits the common man," said Congress Party leader, Jagdambika Pal in New Delhi.

Former politician and journalist Shahid Siddiqui said: "Manmohan Singh's image has been maligned because of the rampant cases of corruption. Questions are being raised over Singh's leadership and Sonia Gandhi as well. They need to give answers. The alliance should have come out openly to counter the allegations. The United Progressive Alliance has somewhere lost credibility and corruption has totally hurt its image."

The Samajwadi Party, the Trinamool Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam have said that the government needs to improve its performance in the remaining one year and gain back the lost trust of the public.

Janata Dal United (JDU) leader Devesh Chandra Thakur said that UPA-2 would only be known for corruption and scandals worth billions of rupees.

The government had tried to defuse a political crisis over the coal deals that has deepened a perception of dysfunction in the world's biggest democracy and derailed Prime Minister Singh's efforts to win back investors.

Prime Minister Singh had denied any wrongdoing and pointed out that it was his government that has proposed competitive bidding.

Singh's government has struggled to defend itself against allegations that it awarded coalfields potentially worth billions of dollars to private and state power, cement and steel companies in a process that was corrupt at worst and lacked transparency or any element of competition at best.