The Hindu : National : We are not afraid of any probe: Natwar

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Wednesday, Nov 09, 2005

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We are not afraid of any probe: Natwar

Special Correspondent

"I am standing here and I can answer to the whole world" "I will not do anything which will force us to hang our heads in shame"

— PHOTO: PTI

WE ARE WITH YOU: Supporters of Union Minister K. Natwar Singh (centre) raise their hands at his residence in New Delhi on Tuesday.

NEW DELHI: Union Minister K. Natwar Singh said on Tuesday that he would not succumb to allegations levelled against him by the Opposition and respond to them in Parliament. A day after he was relieved of his charge as the External Affairs Minister, in the wake of the Volcker Committee report that made a reference to him in the oil-for-food contracts in Iraq, Mr. Singh said he was happy that the Centre had instituted an inquiry into it.

Describing himself as a "loyal member of the big (Congress) party," he told supporters who gathered at his official residence here that he was not a coward and was willing to answer the world. "I am not a coward. I am standing here and I can answer to the whole world. The Congress party and I are not afraid of any probe."

Referring to the judicial inquiry by the former Supreme Court Chief Justice, R.S. Pathak, and the appointment of special envoy Virendra Dayal to collect documents related to the Volcker probe, Mr. Singh said he had demanded the probe and was not afraid of it. He said that no harm could be done either to the Congress or to him through these allegations. Mr. Singh said he had been in politics for over two decades and was answerable to his conscience.

No charge sheet

Taking on the Bharatiya Janata Party, he questioned the party's right to decide what the Congress should do. He said BJP leaders like L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi did not resign even after charge sheets were filed against them. He pointed to the fact that no charge sheet had been filed against him. Mr. Singh said his supporters had come on their own and the expression of solidarity was not intended to be a show of strength or to send a message to anybody.

`They should be ashamed'

PTI reports:

He asked his supporters: "Can you believe that the Congress party which has produced several great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Rajendra Prasad can sell oil for money? If somebody levels these kind of allegations, they should be ashamed of themselves."

As the crowd cheered and jostled to catch a glimpse of their leader, an emotional Mr. Singh said:

``My friends, well-wishers and workers from Bharatpur and Alwar have come here because their heart told them to do so. They are a part of my family ... they are my strength.''

He claimed that buses carrying his supporters were being stopped at Jantar Mantar and appealed to authorities to let them come to meet him.

``I am still a Minister and CWC member. There will not be any indiscipline. I am not holding any public meeting here, let them come and visit me, as they are like my family members,'' he said.

Though he refused to elaborate on the controversy surrounding the Volcker committee report, Mr. Singh reiterated that he had not received any letter from the U.N. panel.

"I will not do anything which will force me or you to hang our heads in shame," he said.

Mr. Singh said that companies such as Reliance, Tata and Kirloskar had also been named in the Volcker report and everybody should get a chance to clarify their stand.

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