Natwar Singh shown the door but gets to keep one foot in
SHISHIR GUPTA, PRANAB DHAL SAMANTA & ANANTHAKRISHNAN G Posted online: Monday, November 07, 2005 at 1745 hours IST Updated: Tuesday, November 08, 2005 at 0353 hours IST
NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 7: Not going, definitely not going, almost gone. That’s how the first chapter of the Natwar Singh story ended this evening with the Government stripping him of his Foreign Ministry portfolio—but letting him stay on as Minister hours after announcing a judicial probe into the Volcker committee’s naming him and the Congress in the oil-for-food scandal.
The decision to announce a judicial probe was the last card being played by the Government even as Natwar refused to get the message.
Yesterday, a special envoy was named for a fact-finding mission; Enforcement Directorate officials were raiding premises and interrogating Andaleeb Sehgal, the man who, along with his firm Hamdan Exports, is named in the Volcker report as having paid $748,540 as illegal kickbacks on behalf of a Swiss firm which lifted oil against rights allotted to Natwar Singh and the Congress party.
Natwar’s son Jagat Singh is a close friend of Sehgal’s and, as The Indian Express investigation revealed, their trips to Jordan matched the schedule of “illegal” deposits into the Jordan National Bank.
The news that he would now be “Minister without portfolio” came hours after the Government had announced a probe headed by former Chief Justice Justice R S Pathak.
The terms of reference of the one-man commission are yet to be announced but Justice Pathak said his investigation would be ‘‘totally independent’’ with the ‘‘sole aim to arrive at the truth’’. He did not rule out the possibility of summoning Natwar Singh ‘‘if and when the need arises’’.
‘‘It is an inquiry with full powers to me to proceed as I like and to devise my own procedure. I want to complete it in the least possible time.’’
He avoided a direct reply about the effectiveness of his probe given the immunity enjoyed by the UN and its officers. ‘‘Requests will be made. Cooperation may be possible under treaty arrangements,’’ he said. Justice Pathak, who has served as a judge in the International Court of Justice at The Hague, pointed out that his job was going to be very different from the one entrusted to special envoy Virendra Dayal. According to him, Dayal will be required to collect documents in connection with the charges made by Volcker. About his own task, the former CJI told The Indian Express: ‘‘It is to find out if the findings in the Volcker report against Natwar Singh and the Congress are justified.’’
That the government had sounded him earlier on the probe was confirmed by Justice Pathak himself. ‘‘They mentioned it. I took a little time to consider if I can take up the responsibility,’’ he said.
In fact, the decision to divest the Foreign Minister of his portfolio was taken late last night after consultations with Congress President Sonia Gandhi and the naming of Dayal as a special envoy.
Ahmed Patel, Sonia’s political secretary, called Natwar after midnight and is said to have “politely conveyed” the decision. Natwar, on his part, called for a “compassionate” hearing from the party president in lieu of his age and decades of service to the party. But despite seeking time from Sonia Gandhi, Natwar was not entertained. As Natwar was still not willing to give, the Congress sought the services of his brother-in-law and Punjab CM Amarinder Singh for counselling the Minister and getting him to climb down.
After the probe was announced, the PM met Sonia Gandhi, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Ahmed Patel, Ambika Soni and other party leaders. Their job was tough: find a way to convince Natwar to go but then also not be seen as giving in to the BJP’s demand for his head. Sources said this was followed by Chidambaram meeting Natwar in the afternoon where Natwar is said to have been told that investigating agencies were still exploring all channels between his son Jagat Singh, Sehgal and Hamdan.
It is only then that Natwar went to the PM and gave him a one-page letter saying that in the light of unsubstantiated Volcker report and reports in the media, he would like to be divested from the charge of External Affairs Ministry.
The PM accepted the letter from Natwar and by the time Chidambaram had also joined the meeting. Immediately a letter was sent to President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam stating the new status of Natwar Singh and the Urban Development Ministry was subsequently asked to look for a new office for him.
Seven days of K Natwar Denial Singh
• Oct 30: The Sunday Express reports that Natwar’s son Jagat was involved in promoting companies to corner deals under the Iraq Oil for Food programme. ‘‘Baseless, untrue,’’ says Natwar • Nov 1: BJP calls Natwar ‘‘national disappointment’’; ‘‘Won’t resign,’’ he says • Nov 3: An investigation by The Indian Express shows that Jagat made two trips to Jordan in 2001 within weeks of friend Andy Sehgal depositing what Volcker called ‘‘illegal surcharge payments’’. Will make statement in Parliament, says Natwar • Nov 4: The Indian Express reports that Natwar’s confidante Aneil Mathrani flew to Jordan the same day as Jagat; PMO signals probe • Nov 5: The Indian Express reports that Masefield, which lifted Iraqi oil on rights allotted to Natwar and Cong, would have made a profit of $8 mn • Nov 6: The Indian Express reports that Govt has issued alert against Sehgal; Hamdan has no export-import licence; Natwar junks Volcker report, says PM, Cong ‘‘stand by me’’; late at night, Govt names special envoy to get ‘‘relevant’’ papers from UN • Nov 7: Govt announces judicial probe under former CJI R S Pathak; Natwar loses his job
NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 7: Not going, definitely not going, almost gone. That’s how the first chapter of the Natwar Singh story ended this evening with the Government stripping him of his Foreign Ministry portfolio—but letting him stay on as Minister hours after announcing a judicial probe into the Volcker committee’s naming him and the Congress in the oil-for-food scandal.
