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Saturday, Dec 03, 2005

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Fresh allegations against Natwar

Special Correspondent

Ambassador Aniel Matherani quoted as saying Natwar Singh was involved in getting oil coupons

NEW DELHI: The Volcker controversy took a dramatic turn on Friday with a close aide of Natwar Singh alleging that the former External Affairs Minister was directly involved in getting "oil coupons" for his son [Jagat Singh] and his son's business friend [Andaleeb Sehgal].

Aniel Matherani, Indian Ambassador to Croatia and a functionary of the Congress' foreign affairs cell in 2000-2001, is reported to have told a television channel/India Today that he was a witness to Mr. Natwar Singh's involvement in the oil-for-food scam.

While Mr. Natwar Singh denied Mr. Matherani's allegations as "false and malicious," Prime Minister Manmohan rejected the Opposition demand in Parliament that immediate action be taken against Mr. Singh.

Mr. Matherani's allegation was used by the Opposition to widen the scope of criticism to include Sonia Gandhi, Congress president and United Progressive Alliance chairperson.

"Sonia must resign"

The Opposition demand for Ms. Gandhi's resignation as chairperson of the National Advisory Council was vocally countered by the Congress in the two Houses. The Congress leadership and MPs are determined not to allow the Opposition to resurrect the controversy.

Soon after Mr. Matherani's allegations were aired on Friday, and the Opposition stalled the proceedings in Parliament, Dr. Singh went into a huddle with his senior Ministers, including Pranab Mukherjee, Shivraj Patil and P. Chidambaram. The Ministers' inclination was to opt for a legalistic approach.

Enforcement Directorate to look into it: Manmohan

Arguing that the Government had been "firm, consistent and clear in its stand," the Prime Minister told the Lok Sabha that it remained "determined to go to the root of the matter and establish the truth or otherwise of these references. We stand by that position even now."

Terming the latest allegations against Mr. Singh "a matter of concern," Dr. Singh added: "The Enforcement Directorate will take cognisance of the recent statements attributed to the Indian Ambassador to Croatia and pursue its investigations."

Dr. Singh said:

"The Enforcement Directorate has assured the Government that their investigations are proceeding on the right track and they would be able to establish the facts expeditiously. We should not pre-judge the final outcome of the investigation or pre-empt the findings that may be given by the Justice R.S. Pathak Inquiry Authority.

"For us in the Government, the trust is of the utmost importance. We are determined that truth must prevail in this matter. Our Government believes in maintaining high standards of probity and transparency in public life and I can assure the House that no one who is guilty will go unpunished."

The Opposition was unimpressed. Going for the Government's jugular, it demanded Ms. Gandhi's resignation.

Core group meets

Later, the Congress party's core group, consisting of Dr. Singh, Ms. Gandhi, Mr. Mukherjee, Mr. Patil and Ahmed Patel and special invitee Mr. Chidambaram, met. It took note of Mr. Matherani's contradictory stand as well as Mr. Natwar Singh's statement. The consensus was that Dr. Singh's statement was sufficient evidence of the Government's sincere intention.

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