Rediff.com« Back to articlePrint this article

Should Natwar Singh go?

Last updated on: November 07, 2005 15:25 IST

External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh and the Congress party were named as non-contractual beneficiaries in Iraqi oil sales in 2001 under the Oil-for-Food programme by the Paul A Volcker-led United Nations' Independent Inquiry Committee's report.

The report listed Natwar Singh and the Congress party as those who were given oil vouchers by former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein for sale to international oil companies at a profit.

The Bharatiya Janata Party and the National Democratic Alliance have pressed for Natwar Singh's removal.

However, the foreign minister has vehemently denied any involvement in the case and has refused to resign.

The government of India on Monday appointed Justice R S Pathak, former chief justice of India and former judge of the International Court of Justice, to head a one-man inquiry into the findings of the Volcker report.

On the same day, NDA leaders met President A P J Abdul Kalam and urged him to advise Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to drop Natwar Singh from the Union Cabinet.

Should Natwar Singh go?

Tell us what you think.