Tough times ahead for Natwar

Directorate of Enforcement, CBDT may grill former minister on Pathak findings.

Former external affairs minister K Natwar Singh got a clean chit from the RS Pathak Inquiry Authority on the financial or personal benefit score, but it is not the end of the story yet.

With the government deciding to forward the Pathak report to the Directorate of Enforcement, the Central Board of Direct Taxes and the Central Board of Excise & Customs, the senior Congress leader will have many more explanations to give as to why and for what consideration he "influenced and facilitated" the contracts, as found out by the panel. The authority found "absolutely no evidence whatsoever" to link the Congress party with any transactions under the oil-for-food scandal.

The Action Taken Report, which was tabled in Parliament along with the inquiry authority's findings today, said the Pathak panel report in its entirety was to be treated as information and for such action as may appear to these three authorities "warranted under law".

The leakage of the Pathak Authority report rocked Parliament today, with both the Treasury and the Opposition Benches indulging in shouting slogans and forcing repeated adjournments.

Natwar Singh, who along with the BJP, SP, TDP and AIADMK members, had moved a breach of privilege motion against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, sought to raise the issue in the Rajya Sabha.

Treasury Benches did not allow Natwar Singh to speak, raising the issue of their notice of breach of privilege against Leader of Opposition Jaswant Singh on the mole-in-the-PMO issue.

Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat observed that both notices were under his consideration and he would not allow anybody to speak till he decides on their admissibility.

The Opposition disrupted the proceedings in the Lok Sabha also, demanding the PM's resignation and an apology from him. Speaker Somnath Chatterjee told members of the BJP, JD(U) and SP that their privilege notice were under his consideration but this failed to pacify Opposition members.

Natwar Singh later told reporters that the privilege notice moved by him was against the institution of the prime minister and not against Manmohan Singh.

"The privilege notice is against the Prime Minister of India, which is an office, an institution. There is nothing personal against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh," he said.

He asserted that along with the Congress party he should also have been given a clean chit in the matter.

Singh said he was not upset with the prime minister and would not say anything against Congress President Sonia Gandhi or against the party. "It is a question of propriety. There was only one copy of the Pathak report and within minutes it was all over the press," he said. Asked whether Gandhi had introduced him to the Saddam Hussain regime, he said, "It is not true."

To a question whether he had introduced Andaleeb Sehgal to the Saddam Hussain regime, he said there was nothing wrong in it and added that the then petroleum minister Ram Naik had also introduced many companies to the Iraqi government.