Natwar
will have to go, says BJP leader Naqvi
New
Delhi: The Bhartiya Janata Party today came down heavily
upon Congress party and its leaders and alleged that they
were protecting its tainted minister against Volcker report.
"This Government always used to do it. In spite of punishing
a criminal, they always use to protect those who have charges
against them. I believe, if Natwar Singh has charges against
him, Government should start enquiry of allegations. But they
are trying to protect him,"said Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. Hundreds
of BJP protesters marched from the party office to the Singh's
residence, where they burnt his effigy, demanding his resignation
in wake of the Volcker Committee report, which has said that
politicians in several countries were given oil vouchers that
could be sold for a commission to help Saddam Hussein in his
quest to get UN sanctions lifted and the ruling Congress party
and External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh received favours
from him.
"External
Affairs Minister Natwar Singh's denials reminds us of the
denials Congress used to make when the Bofors scandal came
to light. It is surprising to note that even two days after
the Prime Minister's Office declared its intention to go to
the roots of the problem, the Government has still not come
out with how and who will conduct the inquiry", said party
spokesman Prakash Javadekar. When asked to comment upon Singh's
assertion that BJP will not decide who the country's Foreign
Minister would be, Javadekar said, "it is for the Prime Minister
to decide but the country will have a new External Affairs
Minister. Natwar Singh will have to go". Congress President
Sonia Gandhi met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today. However,
in Bihar's Muzzafarpur, NDA Convenor George Fernandes on Friday
said that Natwar Singh should not be made the scapegoat as
the Congress party was equally involved in it. Fernandes asserted
that Sonia should spell out her position and clarify the serious
allegations against her party.
Meanwhile,
Natwar Singh has dismissed the allegations and refused to
resign. Singh maintained that the allegations that he and
the Congress party were indirect beneficiaries in the UN "Oil
for Food" contracts, was both outrageous and completely false.
Natwar also confirmed that India's Ambassador to the UN, Nirupam
Sen, has been asked to seek clarifications from UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan on the report. The BJP has asked President
APJ Abdul Kalam to intervene and seek Natwar Singh's resignation
from the Union Cabinet. BJP spokesperson Sushma Swaraj said
that senior BJP leaders had had a meeting with party President
LK Advani on Friday evening, and it had been decided that
they would approach the President on Monday to intervene in
the matter.