The escalating verbal war over an arms bribery scandal rocking the Indian government turned physical Monday, as ruling and opposition MPs almost came to blows outside a paralyzed parliament.
Minutes after both houses were adjourned amid uproar for the fifth straight working day, security guards had to separate rival legislators, who traded shoves and insults, with opposition MPs chanting: "The PM is a thief".
The scuffles followed opposition leader Sonia Gandhi's weekend war cry for a nationwide assault on the scandal-tainted government.
The battle will almost certainly have to be fought outside parliament, which has not been allowed to function since last Tuesday and looks set to remain paralyzed all week as the opposition keeps up its demands that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajapyee and his cabinet resign.
The main opposition Congress party is kicking off the week on a stronger footing than the government, which is still struggling to contain the damage done by a website's video expose of corruption in defense procurement circles.
Congress president Gandhi enjoyed an upbeat party conference in Bangalore at the weekend, accusing the government of bribery and graft, and urging party workers to prepare for elections.
"Let the message go forth from Bangalore that we will fight every battle, wage every war, make every sacrifice to ensure that the country is liberated from the shackles of this corrupt, shameful and communal government," Gandhi said.
Congress is scheduled to unveil a national strategy on Monday aimed at exposing the "corrupt and venal" activities of Vajpayee's Hindu nationalist BJP party and its allies in the ruling coalition.
"It will be a mass awareness campaign," deputy Congress leader Madhavrao Scindia told AFP on Monday.
"All the state party units will be given the task of going to the people and making them aware of what this government is doing," Scindia said.
"This is because the official media has completely blacked out the true picture."
As for the government, there can be fewer better illustrations of the old adage that a week is a long time in politics.
Since last Tuesday when the scandal broke, Vajpayee has lost his BJP party president and defence minister, as well as a key coalition partner, and his administration has come under criticism from its own backers, as well as opponents.
"Vajpayee has gone from being the cheerful leader of a harmonious coalition to becoming the increasingly beleaguered head of a squabbling family," remarked an editorial in the Hindustan Times.
For the moment, however, Vajpayee would appear to have public opinion on his side.
A survey published on Monday by the Development and Research Service, found that 58 percent of urban Indians felt Vajpayee should remain as prime minister, against 32 percent who said he should resign.
Aware that it will have difficulties defending its position in a paralyzed parliament, the government has decided to take to the streets, announcing a major rally in New Delhi on March 25.
On Sunday, Vajpayee told a meeting of BJP workers that the Congress demands for the government to step down were empty rhetoric based on the knowledge that the opposition did not command the required numbers in parliament.
The Congress is "upset with the achievements of my government -- stable government sound economy and social harmony. That is why it wants to topple the government."
The Indian media has been critical of the opposition tactic of stalling parliament, arguing there is important legislation pending.
"It is imperative that parliament is permitted to function and the government allowed to get on with its job," said an editorial in the Indian Express.
The Express also voiced a general horror at the prospect of yet another general election, which would be the fourth in India since 1996.
"It will be an election that nobody wants, not the MPs, not the electorate, not the nation," the newspaper said -- NEW DELHI (AFP)
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