Congress shows letters to Saddam in Sonia's defence

In a belated image-salvage operation, crisis managers of the Congress have dug up old files to produce the letters written by Congress President Sonia Gandhi to then Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

These letters, shown to Business Standard by a senior party leader on Thursday, contained usual diplomatic niceties and had no reference whatsoever to the controversial UN oil-for-food programme for Iraq.

A businessman had, a week ago, created a flutter claiming that K Natwar Singh, one of the alleged beneficiaries in Iraqi oil payoff, had carried a letter from Gandhi to Saddam in 2001. The opposition parties had demanded that the letter's contents be made public.

In the letter dated January 17, 2001, the Congress president had expressed "anguish" at the sufferings of the people in Iraq and deplored the use of force "by one country against another". The party was against any "exercise of hegemony", she said.

Recalling the close and cordial relationships former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi had enjoyed with Saddam, Sonia wrote in the letter: "Iraq must not be isolated (through sanctions)... Indian National Congress stands for political, cultural and economic exchanges between India and Iraq."

In another letter dated April 24, 2001, delivered to Saddam by Natwar Singh, Gandhi had congratulated Saddam on his 64th birthday.

Congress leaders also possessed a copy of the letter, dated August 9, 2001, written by then Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Saddam. In his letter, delivered by a special goodwill delegation led by Najma Heptullah, Vajpayee had referred to the friendly relationship between the two countries and said that he looked forward to strengthening the ties between them.

While Congress leaders are in possession of the copies of these letters written by Gandhi and Vajpayee at different points of time, they are inexplicably reluctant to go to town with them.

"Anybody wanting to see the letter can come to us and have a look," said a close aide of Gandhi.