|
 |
| M A I
N N E W S |
BJP against Natwar’s continuation in office
Tribune News ServiceNew Delhi, November 3
The BJP today urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to immediately axe External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh from the Union Cabinet for his alleged involvement in the food-for-oil-scam and save the country from becoming a laughing stock in the eyes of the world. “Mr Prime Minister, I appeal to you to rise above party’s political interests. Shri Natwar Singh’s continuation in office is a national embarrassment. I urge you to drop him from your Council of Ministers before India becomes a laughing stock in the eyes of the world,” BJP national general secretary Arun Jaitley said in his
letter.
|
Referring to the observations in the report, the BJP leader highlighted a few coincidences: *
The coincidence of the exact sum of $ 748,540 collected by Masefield AG as illegal surcharge being deposited by Mr Andleeb Sehgal and his company M/s Hamdan Export into accounts in Jordan National Bank. *
The coincidence of M/s Hamdan Export and Mr Andleeb Sehgal undertaking a job when the specified non-contractual beneficiary is Mr K Natwar Singh and the Congress. *
The coincidence of Mr Hamdan Export and Mr Andleeb Sehgal being the link between Iraqi recipients of the surcharge and Masefield AG of Switzerland. *
The coincidence of the families of Mr Jagat Singh and Mr Andleeb Sehgal being on the most intimate of terms. *
The coincidence of Mr Jagat Singh and Mr Andleeb Sehgal travelling to Jordan around the time payments were made into accounts in Jordan National Bank. *
The coincidence of Mr K. Natwar Singh and Mr Jagat Singh travelling to Iraq together. *
The coincidence of Mr Jagat Singh being the son of Mr K. Natwar Singh. |
Stating that the credibility of India in the international community had nosedived after the name of Mr Natwar Singh figured as a “non-contractual beneficiary” of payoffs by the erstwhile Saddam Hussein regime in the UN-Sponsored independent committee headed by Mr Paul
Volcker, Mr Jaitley said: “Mr Natwar Singh today stands tainted and seriously compromised. “A person indicted by a UN report for financial impropriety cannot uphold India on the world stage. His credentials will always be suspect”, the BJP leader stressed. Mr Jaitley also demanded registration of a criminal case in the matter followed by investigative actions such as interrogation of relevant persons in India, impounding of their passports, issuance of letter of request to Iraq, Switzerland and the US of cooperation and evidence collection. Countering the Prime Minister’s remarks that the UN-sponsored report contains “insufficient” evidence to warrant “any adverse conclusion” as a total disregard of available facts, Mr Jaitley: said “There is a sufficient body of evidence to warrant a review of your initial clean chit to Mr Natwar Singh.” “Mr Prime Minister, you will have noticed that in suggesting a monumental conspiracy to discredit him, your beleaguered External Affairs Minister has lost the ability to distinguish personal interests from national interests. His statement that the Volcker report is based on ‘forgeries’ is indicative of an imbalance that does not lend itself to good diplomacy,” he said.
|
