_WORLD WATCH______________________________
________________India_______________
Christians lament government corruption
Internet scandal shakes a goverment
The All India Christian Council (AICC), a forum of lay Christian leaders, has expressed anguish over “the crisis of moral values in national public life” following the exposure of corruption by an Indian Internet portal. Calling for “probity and accountability in all spheres,” the council urged the “civil society and all secular forces to show leadership in checking the moral decay.”
The statement followed a corruption scandal that shocked the nation when Tehelka.com—an Indian web site—released four hour-long videotapes demonstrating corruption in the Indian army and bureaucracy. The videos, secretly recorded by a team of three journalists posing as agents of a fictitious arms-dealing firm, showed government and military officials accepting bribes and striking self-serving deals. The most telling of the videos showed
Bangaru Laxman, the president of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, accepting wads of currency, after stating his preference for US dollars over Indian rupees. Laxman was forced to resign from office, but critics called for more sweeping changes, pushing for the ouster of the entire coalition government.