World Notes INDIA

For weeks Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi has been under fire for his party's poor performance in recent state elections and for his high-handed treatment of Indian politicians. Last week Gandhi sparked the gravest crisis of his career by forcing Defense Minister V.P. Singh, widely regarded as the ablest and most honest member of the Cabinet, to resign. Singh stepped down after he was bitterly attacked by Gandhi loyalists for authorizing probes into illegal financial dealings and military-contract kickbacks that promised to embarrass the Prime Minister.

In Parliament, Singh's resignation sparked angry debate. Opposition politicians taunted the Prime Minister, who took office in 1984 with a reputation for personal probity, with the refrain "Where's Mr. Clean?"