London: Former External Affairs Minister and suspended Congress party leader Natwar Singh said he would soon write a book to reveal why the Indian Government had acted on the Volcker report on the Iraq oil-for-food scandal.

".....No government in the world except the Indian Government took any notice of the report. Indian Government was the only one to have taken notice and acted on the unclear report," Singh told BBC Hindi in an interview.

"....Now, the question is why did the Indian Government decide to act on a report which was completely trashed in other parts of the world. This, I would reveal in my new book which I am going to write soon," he said.

"Paul Volcker himself said he made changes in the report to save U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan from embarrassment. Therefore, it is clear that the report was doctored. My name or that of my party did not figure in the first four reports of Volcker. My name was added as late as February 2005 in the fifth report, that too as a mis-spelt name of Natora Singh," the former External Affairs Minister said.

"Not informed"

He said: "Our missions in the United States did not bother to find out about the report and the names; neither was I informed about this when I visited that country in April, 2005 nor in July same year when I was there with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh."

"Had we been informed, we would have there and got this anomaly removed," Mr. Singh said.

Asked what his future political plans were, the former minister said: "First of all, I am going to reply to the show cause notice given to me by my party. I am not going to blame anyone but would also not be afraid to put the facts as they are."

Continuing his attack on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he said: "Recently, a Congress leader remarked that I should now retire from politics heeding my own advice, as I had said in the past that those above 70 years of age should not be in politics. My answer is that I am almost retired, but if that criterion is to be applied, first of all, Manmohan Singh, who is 74 now, should be asked to retire."

He said the Prime Minister did not do or say anything to defend his colleague.

"The only thing I heard from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the past nine months since the Volcker issue was raked up was that facts have not been verified. Now, the Pathak Committee says that neither my son nor me took any financial benefits, then why did Manmohan Singh not say anything on the issue then or now? He did not stand up for a colleague as a team leader should have done," Mr. Singh charged.

He, however, refused to say anything against Congress President Sonia Gandhi. "I owe a lot to this family. There is no doubt that Mrs. Gandhi made me the Foreign Minister. Attempts are being made to make me speak against her but I am not so brittle to do so," he added. — PTI

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