Angry Indian opposition MPs Tuesday protested against the reappointment of a scandal-tainted defence minister and demanded he be dismissed immediately.
George Fernandes resigned as defense minister in March over allegations of corruption in defence deals, but was reinstated in the cabinet by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee last month.
He had quit after a news website ran an expose on his defense ministry which showed top-level officials allegedly taking bribes from journalists who posed as arms dealers.
The government is yet to finish an investigation into the scandal, which shocked India.
On the second day of parliament's winter session, MPs from the opposition Congress and various communist parties Tuesday demanded the prime minister explain why he had reappointed Fernandes before the commission of enquiry could produce a final report.
"The prime minister owes an explanation to members as he is accountable to parliament," Congress party leader Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi said.
Later opposition members staged a walkout from parliament on the issue.
Though Fernandes was not directly implicated in the expose, his name figured several times in the secretly-recorded tapes, with generals and middlemen accusing Fernandes of making money.
But Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan Tuesday defended Fernandes, saying he was "totally innocent".
The commission of enquiry has not levelled any charge directly or indirectly against him, Mahajan said New Delhi (AFP)
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