NEW DELHI, April 23: An official finding that New Delhi diverted wartime taxes to meet general expenses sparked uproar in the Indian parliament on Wednesday.

“Never in the history of Indian parliament such strong revelations and exposure of the functioning of the defence ministry has been made,” Priyaranjan Dasmunshi, a senior leader of the Congress party said.

Mr Dasmunshi was referring to a parliamentary panel probe that said the government diverted 4.24 billion rupees it raised out of a five-per cent surcharge imposed following the Kargil conflict in 1999.

Legislators from Mr Vajpayee’s ruling BJP tried to blunt Mr Dasmunshi’s attack, leading to uproar in parliament’s lower house.

But as opposition members mounted pressure, Mr Vajpayee relented and said he was ready for a debate on the issue.

“Opposition should not think that such reports are not taken seriously. A time must be fixed for discussion. There is no objection,” Mr Vajpayee said of the report, which was unveiled in parliament on Tuesday.

Defence Minister George Fernandes has previously faced flak over the Kargil conflict, with opposition MPs accusing him of importing overpriced caskets.

Congress leader Dasmunshi also attacked the government over the report’s finding that defence budgets have been under-used in recent years.

“Total defence expenditure has come down by 30 per cent and if this is the case, how can people feel confident that the nation is safe in your hands?” he said.

India had allocated a budget of 620 billion rupees in the fiscal year 2001-2002, but the defence ministry gave back 50 billion rupees, saying it could not spend it in the stipulated period. —AFP