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Surprising

The Justice R.S. Pathak Inquiry Authority says the former External Affairs Minister, Natwar Singh, misused his position to help Hamdaan Exports of Andaleeb Sehgal in bagging oil contracts from Iraq. That Mr. Singh is in no mood to accept the findings but is bent on making the leak of the report an issue instead is surprising.

P. Krishna,
Chennai

* * *

Leak of the Pathak report may be an act of impropriety. But making it a big issue, obviously with a view to distracting the attention of all concerned, may at best serve the purpose of creating some sensation. That cannot, however, lessen the seriousness of the issue — alleged misuse of position by Mr. Singh.

K.D. Viswanaathan,
Coimbatore

* * *

When the BJP raised the issue of the Volcker report and demanded removal of Mr. Singh, many accused it of indulging in disruptive activities. But the Pathak report has vindicated the BJP. Had the UPA Government not attempted to shield its Minister, there would have been no disruption. Action-only-after-loud-protests has become the order of the day.

K.R. Ganesan,
Brookline, Massachusetts

* * *

From the noise Mr. Singh is making, it appears he is protesting too much.

Siddharth Chaturvedi,
Lucknow

* * *

Three States are reeling under floods, leading to a large number of deaths and rendering lakhs of people homeless. Is this not an urgent issue to be discussed in Parliament? By boycotting Parliament, the NDA only reinforces the popular impression that it has no fruitful agenda.

G. Ramachandran,
Tiruchi, T.N.

* * *

The politics of opportunism that we witness today reflects the deterioration of moral values in public life. The Natwar Singh issue is only an example. Our leaders have little time to discuss relevant issues, and instead engage in activities that suit their vested interests.

Deepak Kumar,
Begusarai, Bihar

* * *

The NDA's protest in front of the Gandhi statue outside the Parliament House (Aug. 9) is a mockery of the parliamentary system of democracy. That the Opposition deems it fit to boycott the House, instead of sorting out issues inside Parliament, is unfortunate.

Anish Sebastian,
Muvattupuzha, Kerala

* * *

In the absence of any proof established through due legal process, Justice Pathak's contention that Mr. Singh tried to project himself as speaking for the entire Congress, while in fact he was addressing a personal request to the Iraqi Government, can only be conjecture.

There is no proof to say categorically that the Congress, mentioned in Volcker Report as a beneficiary in the oil-for-food programme, had no role in the matter. The Pathak report has only helped to make the political waters in the country muddier.

K. Vijayakumar,
Bangalore

* * *

The Volcker report has named politicians, almost all of whom opposed the American designs in Iraq, in Russia, France, Britain, and Italy too. These countries have treated the report with the contempt it deserves. The entire Natwar Singh episode is the most unnecessary fix the Congress has ever got itself into.

Sham Sankar,
Thiruvananthapuram

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