Indian police crack down on anti-graft protes

Indian police on Tuesday used water cannon, tear gas and bamboo batons to disperse thousands of opposition activists protesting against a slew of corruption scandals racking the government. The demonstrators shouted "Down with the corrupt UPA government," referring to the Congress-led United Party Alliance headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The protest in central New Delhi was staged by the youth wing of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party which is the main opposition in parliament. Demonstrators hurled stones and bottles at police who responded with water cannon and tear gas to break up the protest. A group of protesters jumped police barricades and ran towards the parliament building but were stopped by the police. The protest was part of a nationwide campaign launched by the BJP's student wing on Tuesday against the corruption-plagued government. "This (government) has no right to remain in power," Bharti Kumbhare, a spokeswoman for the the youth wing, told reporters. The demonstration came after angry exchanges in parliament over last year's scandal-hit Commonwealth Games A scathing report by the national auditor last week accused the Delhi city government of wasting at least $29 million during its "ill-conceived and ill-planned" programme to beautify the Indian capital in the run-up to the Games. The October 3-14 Games were meant to showcase India's status as an emerging global power, but headlines were stolen by venue delays, shoddy construction and budget overruns in which the event's cost tripled to at least $6 billion. The report on the Games adds to the woes of the government, already reeling from a telecom graft scandal alleged to havcost the public treasury up to $40 billion in lost revenues.