The World : 106 India Lawmakers Quit

All 106 opposition members in India’s lower house of Parliament resigned to protest Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s refusal to step down over a controversial foreign arms deal. The decision by the 12 opposition parties in the 544-seat Lok Sabha, the lawmaking branch of Parliament, was sparked by an auditor’s report citing inconsistencies in the 1986 purchase of Swedish artillery worth $1.4 billion. Opposition members and news reports allege that officials received millions of dollars in kickbacks in return for securing the contract for the Swedish company, AB Bofors. The move is not expected to have much effect on Parliament, where Gandhi’s Congress-I Party commands a majority, but opposition leaders said they hope it will help make the arms deal a key issue in the next elections.