Australia on Wednesday rejected claims by a group of asylum seekers that they were beaten and suffered burns while being returned to Indonesia by the Australian navy under a policy that has strained ties between the countries.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram admitted today that his party, the ruling Congress, is the underdog heading into the general elections due by May. He also admitted that the Congress-led UPA government has displayed "a certain lack of decisiveness."

Finance Minister P Chidambaram today hit out at the BJP, accusing it of having a "regressive" and "incoherent" economic policy.