Sonia
Gandhi meets PM again over Volcker report
New
Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi met Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh for the second time in two days on Saturday
to discuss the controversy surrounding the Volcker Report,
which names External Affairs Minister K.Natwar Singh and the
Congress Party as a non-contractual beneficiaries. Informed
sources said that the meeting lasted for over two hours and
was also attended by Gandhi's personal secretary Ahmed Patel.
The unscheduled meeting, the third between Singh and Sonia
Gandhi in the last four days regarding the Volcker report,
comes just hours before an all-party delegation is to see
Singh over the issue. The meeting also assumes significance
after a dramatic revelation by an Iraq based NRI businessman,
Mr. Meiji, that Sonia Gandhi was also connected.
Meanwhile,
External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh today rejected demands
for his resignation in the wake of a UN report naming him
as a beneficiary in Iraqi oil pay-offs and contested its author
Paul Volcker`s statement that he was asked to respond on allegations
against him. "Why should I...the BJP can`t decide who the
Foreign Minister of India will be," he told a private channel
in an interview ruling out the possibility of his resignation.
Asked whether he thought that after a month he would still
be the External Affairs Minister, he said it was the Prime
Minister`s prerogative, but he was confident that he would
continue as Foreign Minister. He said, not for a moment the
thought of resignation crossed his mind ever since the controversy
broke a week ago and claimed that he enjoyed the full confidence
of both Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh. "I am told that I am doing a good job so do
you expect me to go to the Prime Minister and say that since
I am doing a good job I am putting in my papers," he said.
Asked what his reaction would be if his portfolio was changed
in a reshuffle, he said "he was in public life and if you
can`t take the heat in the kitchen then you go out". Singh
said he had a lot of other interests like reading and writing.
He enjoyed life, has a good family and a circle of friends.
Singh said the allegations against him and the Congress party
were "outrageous" and that there was no involvement either
in any oil deal that had allegedly taken place during Saddam
Hussein`s regime during the UN applied sanctions. Singh said
as a diplomat the only emotion he was allowed was that of
"controlled indignation" against this "outrageous" report.
The External Affairs Minister said he had nothing to do with
Swiss oil exporter Masefield Export and he had never seen
a barrel in his life or knew how to procure oil. About the
links between his son Jagat Singh and Andleeb Seghal of Hamdan
Export which had bought oil, he said the two were friends
but they had nothing to do with Seghal`s business dealings.
He said he had met Gandhi and she was "quite upset" about
the name of the party and himself being sullied in the report.
Questioning Volcker`s statement yesterday that those named
in the report were given notice and their comments sought,
Singh asked why didn`t Paul Volcker send him or the Congress
party a notice. He said allegations in the report were an
attempt to malign one of the well-known, oldest, democratic
and secular party in the world. Singh said as a Congress Working
Comittee member, he had the backing of the party also.
About
the visit of his son to Iraq and to Jordan where money was
allegedly stashed in a bank, he said Jagat Singh was married
to a Jordanian girl and he had gone to spend sometime with
her family. Jagat was entitled to accompany him to Iraq as
part of a party delegation. Also, Jordan was a transit route
to go to Iraq. About his party functionary Anil Mathrani going
to Jordan around the time the payments were made, he said
Mathrani was capable of defending himself. Asked about Volcker`s
statement that his report was based on evidence in Iraqi records,
Singh countered, "It was based on the records of the current
Iraqi government which had no credibility in the world." "Let
him (Volcker) produce evidence," he added. Singh did not feel
anything much could be achieved by the Congress plans to sue
the UN committee. He said the UN is a body of over 100 countries,
including India, and no purpose would be served by the move.
About Volcker`s comment that he came to know that Natwar Singh
was Foreign Minister only `yesterday,` Singh said he was appalled
at his (Volcker`s) ignorance. "Ignorance is not bliss," he
added.