PM slams BJP for stalling Parliament proceedings

Opposition softens stance after Natwar resignation.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party for stalling parliamentary proceedings over former external affairs minister Natwar Singh's alleged involvement in the UN-sponsored oil-for-food programme in Iraq.

"The party in opposition, the BJP, is doing all this to divert people's attention from the internal troubles the party is facing like the power struggle in Madhya Pradesh and the leadership issue. It is sad that party politics has forced such a thing which is not in the interests of the nation," Singh told reporters aboard Air-India Tanjore on his return from Moscow after a three-day state visit.

"That Parliament should function smoothly is in everybody's interest," he added.

The BJP had mounted pressure on the prime minister to drop Natwar Singh from his cabinet after Aneil Matherani, the former Indian ambassador to Croatia, told a newsmagazine that Singh had intervened to procure oil vouchers for his son Jagat Singh and his friend Andleeb Sehgal.

Though Natwar Singh had been deprived of his portfolio, he continued to serve on the cabinet as a minister without portfolio. Talking about Natwar Singh's resignation from the cabinet, the prime minister said that he had just received the resignation and would take a decision after reaching India.

It is worth remembering that on Sunday, on his way to Moscow, the prime minister had said that if Natwar Singh decided to resign on his own, then he would consider his resignation.

When asked when he would meet the former external affairs minister, Singh said: "I will meet him whenever it is convenient for him and me."

Sources close to Singh said that Natwar Singh's resignation was part of an agreement with the BJP whereby the Opposition would allow Parliament to function smoothly if the former external affairs minister stepped down.

When asked if the Natwar Singh episode could have been handled differently, Singh replied in the negative.

A day after he announced his decision to step down from the Union Cabinet, former external affairs minister K Natwar Singh today handed over his resignation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh shortly after he returned from moscow.

"This is my letter of resignation from the Union Cabinet as minister without portfolio. It has been a privilege to be a member of your cabinet,' he said in his letter. He said he had earlier faxed the letter to him in Moscow and "now I handed it over to him personally".

Announcing his decision yesterday evening, Natwar Singh had said that he did not want to be made an 'excuse' by the Opposition to stall the proceedings in the parliament.

His resignation paved the way for the resumption of normal business in both Houses of Parliament, which had witnessed four consecutive days of disruption by a belligerant Opposition over the controversial Volcker report .

But, having drawn first blood by forcing Singh's resignation, the triumphant Opposition today trained its gun on Congress President Sonia Gandhi demanding her resignation from the National Advisory Council (NAC) as the Congress was also listed as a non-contractual beneficiary in the Iraqi oil-for-food scam.

"Why should there be two different standards- one for Natwar Singh and another for Sonia Gandhi...Sonia Gandhi must also resign," Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha LK Advani demanded amidst vociferous protest from Treasury Benches.

Other speakers from the Opposition Benches re-iterated the same demand, which drew loud protests from the Treasury Benches but, unlike in the previous four days, the exchange of heated words did not lead to any adjournment in either House of the Parliament.

Natwar Singh's resignation had somehow softened the Opposition, which finally settled for a discussion on Volcker report during Zero Hour today.

The Opposition sought to take credit for Natwar Singh's resignation citing his statement that he had decided to resign because he did not want to be made an excuse by the Opposition to stall the proceedings in the parliament.

The Treasury Benches tried to turn the table on the Opposition citing tehelka expose and the scams allegedly involving the then Defence Minister and alleged that the BJP was only trying to divert attention from "in house" problems.

Rejecting the Opposition's demand for Gandhi's resignation, Parliamentary Affairs Minister PR Dasmunshi said that the PM had already given a statement on this issue in both Houses of parliament and inquiries are already on.Congress spokesman Anand Sharma later came down heavily on the Opposition terming its demand as "objectionable, malicious and mischievous".

He said that Leader of Opposition Advani should rather resign because he himself was chargesheeted in the court of law.

Upbeat on 8% growth rate

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today expressed hope that the Indian economy would clock a growth of eight per cent during the year.

"I hope I am proved wrong and the economy registers a growth of eight per cent," Singh said when asked if he would like to upscale his growth forecast for the year from 7.5 per cent after the economy grew over eight per cent during the first six months.

"But there are two quarters still to go," he added. While explaining the Prime Minister's observation, his senior advisors said that earlier a 7.5 per cet growth looked like the best case scenario; now it looked like the worst case scenario.