The Hindu : National : Bhandari declines to name Vajpayee's " associate"

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Tuesday, Dec 20, 2005

National

National

Bhandari declines to name Vajpayee's " associate"

Says he will "officially" pass on the information to Pathak panel

New Delhi: Former Governor Romesh Bhandari on Monday refused to comply with the demand made by Atal Bihari Vajpayee's foster son-in-law, Ranjan Bhattacharya, to say he was not the "close associate" of the former Prime Minister whom he (Mr. Bhandari) had accused of involvement in Iraqi oil deals.

Responding to a legal notice issued by Mr. Bhattacharya, Mr. Bhandari, who was also India's Ambassador to Iraq, declined to name Mr. Vajpayee's "close associate," saying he would "officially" pass on the information to the Justice R. S. Pathak Committee.

"The Prime Minister and those connected with him in a sense are all subject to scrutiny and are public servants. There can be no punishable libel in respect of such persons unless the statements are made with express malice. I have acted in complete honesty and respected the right of the Press and the right of the people to know what was available to me as information," Mr. Bhandari said in his two-page reply. In an interview to Outlook magazine, Mr. Bhandari alleged that a "close associate" of Mr. Vajpayee was involved in the oil deals but refused to name the person.

Following publication of the interview, Mr. Bhattacharya issued the legal notice to Mr. Bhandari.

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