NEW DELHI, June 9: Indian Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Wednesday that the Vajpayee government had delayed the use of air power in the Kargil operations to avoid escalation of the conflict with Pakistan.

In his statement to the Lok Sabha, Mr Mukherjee effectively denied Indian news reports that Indian troops had suffered higher casualties in the 1999 standoff because the Vajpayee government was slow in deploying the Indian Air Force to evict Pakistanis from the occupied heights.

"It would be unfair to say that the time taken to give clearance to deploy air power during the Kargil war was the reason behind higher casualties. After all it was a difficult war fought from a position of disadvantage," the minister said.

He said that the Vajpayee government had rightly decided to hold back air strikes, and make sure that the localized conflict did not become a full-scale war. A defence ministry statement, tabled in the Parliament, the army had asked for use of air power on May 8, 1999.

However, Vajpayee's government took 18 days to give the green signal for air strikes. The army had on May 8 projected the requirement of attack helicopters for use against the enemy and also helicopters for use for transport of troops.

The request was considered between May 12 and 17, 1999. And it was decided not to use the option as it may lead to escalation. Mr Mukherjee said the then Chief of Air Staff had also taken the view that air power at those heights could not be properly utilized, as helicopters would be extremely vulnerable.

The former Air Chief's view was that before committing air power, political clearance should be obtained and the same was finally done on May 25, 1999. "It was only after the fuller and in-depth appreciation of the emerging situation, the Cabinet Committee on Security took the decision to deploy the IAF and gave the go ahead for use of air power," Mr Mukherjee said.

His statement could not be read out because of the din in the Lok Sabha, where the opposition did not allow the house to work for the second consecutive day over the issue of tainted ministers inducted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Regarding allegations that high casualties could have been avoided if air power had been used from the beginning, the minister said: "I wish there had been no casualties at all."

He said that between May 8 and May 25, 1999, the number of casualties had only been 35 as compared to 439 between May 26 and the end of the Kargil operation on July 26. Former defence minister George Fernandes said Mr Mukherjee had vindicated his own statement.