CPI decides to support Natwar

The CPI today came out in support of External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh, named as a beneficiary in a UN report on Iraqi oil deals, saying he has a "strong case" and there was no need for him to quit the government.

"He (Natwar) has a strong case. All these (findings of the Volcker Committee report) are funny exercises. Even the Russians have said it is a forged document," CPI General Secretary AB Bardhan told reporters after meeting Singh at his residence here.

Asked whether Singh should resign in the wake of the report which had said that he and the Congress were non-contractual beneficiaries in the food-for-oil programme in 2001 under the Saddam Hussain regime, the CPI veteran said "why should he".

Bardhan, who was accompanied by CPI National Secretary D Raja, said he advised Singh to make a detailed statement in Parliament.

The CPI leader termed as "meaningless" the Congress move to issue a legal notice to the UN and the Volcker Committee demanding full disclosure of the material on the basis of which the inquiry committee reached the "unverified conclusion" that the party was a beneficiary in the Iraqi oil deal scam.