Indian govt hit by resignation over graft claims

NEW DELHI — Investigations into alleged corruption within the Indian government claimed another victim Thursday when Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran resigned after being named in a police court report.Maran's departure was a further blow for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, whose upright image has suffered after a series of graft scandals affecting his administration over the last year.Indian police suggested on Wednesday that Maran, who was telecoms minister from 2004-07, abused his powers as telecom minister in 2006 to favour companies with which he had links.A police report lodged with the Supreme Court on Wednesday alleged that Maran forced the founder of the Aircel telecom group, C. Sivasankaran, to sell his stake in his group to another company close to the Maran family.The NDTV news channel said that Maran had stepped down after talks between the Congress party that leads the government and Maran's regional DMK party, which is a key part of the ruling coalition.Maran, 44, tendered his resignation during a meeting with Singh after a cabinet meeting, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.He is the second DMK minister to quit the government after his successor at the telecoms ministry, A. Raja, resigned last year over the allegedly fraudulent sale of new second-generation (2G) telecom spectrum in 2008.Raja is in custody awaiting trial along with several top government officials and business executives.India's Supreme Court is overseeing police probes into the so-called 2G scam, which was calculated by the national auditor to have cost the treasury up to $40 billion in lost revenue due to cut-price deals set up with selected telecom firms.Police have said that they plan to make further arrests over the 2G sale but have not charged Maran with any offence.The DMK party, which is based in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, said Maran would now fight to clear his name."It is good for him that he has resigned because now he can boldly face these accusations," party spokesman T.K.S. Elangovan told AFP

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