Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Pathak report

The report of the Justice R.S. Pathak Inquiry Authority points to a role for the former External Affairs Minister, Natwar Singh, in getting Iraqi oil contracts for Hamdaan Exports of Andaleeb Sehgal. Corruption and misuse of official position are serious issues that cripple the country's economy. It is not enough for the Government to force the salaried and business class to pay tax before the deadline, impose service tax for all kinds of transactions, monitor bank transactions of individuals, impose taxes for credit card purchases and so on. It is equally important to act against erring politicians and government officials.

R. Muralidharan Raju Iyer,
Chennai

* * *

The Pathak panel has found that Mr. Singh helped Mr. Sehgal in procuring oil quotas. The former Minister should gracefully own moral responsibility. His decision to make a noise over the report inside and outside Parliament to prove his innocence is most unfortunate. The Congress and the Prime Minister are now in an embarrassing position.

J. Dorairaj,
Chennai

* * *

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will have to clarify to the nation on what basis he gave Mr. Natwar Singh a clean chit when the Volcker Committee findings were first published in 2005.

Anup Kumar Rai,
Allahabad, U.P.

* * *

The report has pointed an accusing finger at Mr. Singh who has challenged it as having made him a scapegoat. He claims the Congress is inseparable from him. Now is the opportunity for him to disclose all that he knows and let the people judge for themselves.

Ramaswamy Krishnan,
Fremont, California

* * *

Mr. Singh's privilege notice leaves us to conclude that he is more bothered about the leak of the report than his indictment.

T. Raghavan,
Chennai

* * *

Jaswant Singh created waves when he talked of a mole in the PMO of Narasimha Rao, only to say later he did not know who the mole was. It is now the turn of Mr. Natwar Singh to cry hoarse that he has been sacrificed by the Pathak panel, and that he is victim of an international conspiracy. What exactly is the truth?

Srikanth Sriramula,
Karimnagar, A.P.

* * *

Be it a discussion on Jaswant Singh's mole mystery or the Pathak panel's findings, it has been a waste of expensive Parliament hours for which the common man pays directly or indirectly. It seems politicians have conspired to prove wrong all predictions of India's economic progress in the coming decade.

Arun Dash,
Hyderabad

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