M A I N   N E W S

Natwar hands over resignation to PM
Says he is willing to die but will someone tell him his crime
Tribune News Service

President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has accepted the resignation of Mr Natwar Singh, minister without portfolio, from the Union Council of Ministers.

New Delhi, December 7
Having been pushed to the wall to quit the UPA government after being removed as a member of the high power Congress Steering Committee late at night on Monday, Union Minister without Portfolio K Natwar Singh called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh within hours of his return from Moscow here this evening and handed over his resignation.

With the Congress leaders in general taking strong exception to his stonewalling, Mr Natwar Singh had to make the "sacrifice" and take a back seat in the wake of the Opposition storm that he cannot continue as a Union Minister in the wake of the UN appointed Paul Volcker Committee naming him in its report as one of the non-contractual beneficiaries in the Oil-for-Food scam in Iraq. What made matters worse for Mr Natwar Singh was the statement given by India's erstwhile ambassador to Croatia Aneil Mathrani. The former External Affairs minister must now await the findings of the Justice R S Pathak Inquiry Authority probing the matter.

Typical of Mr Natwar Singh he narrated a couplet after submitting his resignation letter as a Union Minister to the Prime Minister the import of which was that he "is willing to die but someone should at least tell me what is my crime." Emphasising in his letter to Dr Singh that "it was a privilege to be a member of your Cabinet," he acknowledged that the Prime Minister will be forwarding his resignation letter to President A P J Abdul Kalam with the recommendation that the same be accepted. He insisted that his resignation will not have any adverse impact on his personal relations with the leadership.

Immediately after being removed as a member of the Congress Steering Committee, he had telephoned the Prime Minister in Moscow expressing his intent to resign and now "I have handed it over to the Prime Minister personally." He maintained that he was innocent and affirmed that he is a Congress worker and will always remain one.

With the curtain finally ringing down on the impasse connected with his resignation after having been stripped of the External Affairs portfolio in the first instance but retained as Minister without Portfolio, Mr Natwar Singh without elaborating expressed his intention of taking a holiday.

Being obdurate all this while and his frequent interface with the media had virtually isolated him in the Congress who were firm from the time that the Volcker Committee became public that Mr Natwar Singh must make his exit from the Manmohan Singh government. All sections of Congressmen believe his graceful exit from the government in the first instance would have avoided the embarrassment caused to the government and Congress President and NAC Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

What indeed compelled Mr Natwar Singh to rethink his stand of continuing in the government as Minister without Portfolio was his removal as a member of the Congress Steering Committee. This came following the controversial statement by Mr Mathrani pointing an accusing finger at Mr Natwar Singh in an interview to India Today with regard to the Oil-for-Food scandal in Iraq. The members of this body failed to understand how could Mr Natwar Singh continue as a member of the CSC under the prevailing circumstances. This was conveyed in unambiguous terms to Mr Natwar Singh at the meeting itself held late at night on Monday. The resolution adopted by the CSC was hard hitting that "it had become untenable for Mr Natwar Singh" to continue as its member. This was the most blunt message conveyed to Mr Natwar Singh by the top leadership of the ruling party.

Subsequently, the next day Congress General Secretary Ambika Soni and Minister of State holding independent charge of Science and Technology Kapil Sibal virtually bayed for Mr Natwar Singh's head as a union minister. Till then Mr Natwar Singh was steadfast that he is not going to sacrifice himself. The writing on the wall was unmistakble this time. Congress leaders were distraught that Mr Natwar Singh was not heeding the leadership's unambiguous signals. But that was not to be though Mr Natwar Singh tried his best to stay put and fight the challenge from within the Congress.

While Mr Sibal contended that for "sensible people a hint is enough," Mrs Soni when asked about Mr Natwar Singh's resignation observed "it is not a question of what I think or what you think. It is a question of what the individual concerned thinks." The widespread ire in the Congress against Mr Natwar Singh has been brewing since Iraq's Oil-for-Food scandal broke out in October

Meanwhile, the Congress spokesperson charged the Opposition with subverting Parliament and using the Volcker Committee report as an issue to deflect attention from the internal problems of the BJP and to besmirch the reputation of the Congress.