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Suspended Natwar sets up a 'nuclear club'

      New Delhi: Suspended Former External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh wasted no time in announcing the formation of a 'nuclear club' along with former External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha and Samajwadi Party's Amar Singh with the sole motive of "nailing the UPA Government on the crucial Indo-US nuclear deal". The deal which is facing criticism from the BJP and the Left alike, has been turned into a breeding ground for Natwar's vociferous ante against his party and against Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. "The entire nation is with Natwar Singh. In the Rajya Sabha too, he has more supporters than critics," Amar Singh said late on Tuesday night in the presence of BJP's Yashwant Sinha and Shatrughan Sinha and Janata Dal (United)'s Digivijay Singh.

    Natwar's new moves followed after a late night-meeting of Congress Party's Disciplinary Committee issued a suspension order and a show cause notice giving him a fortnight's time to explain why he should not be expelled. Minutes after media relayed live pictures of Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee spelling out the party's decree, Natwar came out of his residence and said: "I will write to the Guinness Book of World Records. This is the only Prime Minister who has not even won a municipality election and has become the Prime Minister of India." Natwar's frustration with the Congress leadership came out loud and clear after he found himself completely isolated, bringing an end to his over two-decade old association with the Congress. However, in the midst of all this drama, Natwar has not hesitated to embrace new friends from opposition BJP and Samajwadi Party. Natwar is expected to make a dramatic statement in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. The Justice RS Pathak inquiry Authority had indicted Natwar and his son Jagat for misusing their political positions to procure oil bonds for Andaleeb Sehgal in the 2001 Oil-for Food scam. However, the report has given a clean chit to the Congress party.

Natwar remark on PM condemned

     New Delhi: The Congress party today came down heavily on suspended leader Natwar Singh for his remarks on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh soon after being served the suspension order by the party. Natwar had criticised Manmohan Singh saying that since the Prime Minister had not contested a single election, he had no right to treat a veteran politician like him in a shabby manner. Reacting to this, Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma condemned Natwar and said: "They (Natwar Singh and his supporters) should have knowledge of the Indian constitution. Manmohan Singh is not only a national, but an international personality. It is a matter of great pride for India that a person, whose intelligence, wit and calm and composed nature is acclaimed by the world, is the Prime Minister of the country. Prior to this also several Rajya Sabha members have held the post. So, claiming that he is the first person is totally wrong. In fact, Natwar Singh had taken oath under his Prime Ministership only".

    Natwar, however, rebutted the charges. In a press release, the former Foreign Minister said the judicial authority headed by Justice R.S. Pathak had overlooked a communication by one of its diplomats on the very credibility of Paul Volcker's report. "I place before the people of India what the Permanent Mission of India and the UN has reported in the 'Final report on the Oil for Food Programme Investigation' on the authenticity and veracity of the Volcker Report to the Manmohan Singh Government. It may be noted that the communication is of October 30 2005, and therefore, a vital input which was available to the Manmohan Singh Government and to Justice R.S. Pathak which they seem to have deliberately ignored," Jagat Singh read out from the press release. Natwar's suspension follows the conclusion of the Pathak probe, which held both Natwar Singh and his son Jagat of misusing their political positions.

Natwar says Pathak report 'convoluted'

     New Delhi: Suspended Congress leader Natwar Singh who till Monday said that the Pathak Inquiry report vindicated his innocence , today described it convoluted. Singh, who is now camping with the BJP and Samajwadi Party leaders at his residence, chose to speak to the media through his son Jagat, who has also been indicted by the Justice Pathak report. Both were accused of misusing their political positions for pecuniary benefit. Terming it a "malicious campaign", which has subjected him to "painful inquisitions", Singh took out a leaf from the report of Harsh Vardhan Shringla, a Minister of the Permanent Mission of India in New York, to allege that Supreme Court ChiefJustice RS Pathak and the Government had deliberately ignored the report. Shringla's report to the Government cast doubts on Paul Volcker's integrity. A copy of the Shringla report distributed by Natwar Singh states: "The IIC is headed by Paul Volcker, former Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, whose inclination would be to discredit the opponents of US policy". By bringing this to the fore, Natwar has indicated that the entire Volcker allegation against him on the Oil-for-Food scam was rooted in his "anti-US stance". Shringla also wrote that the Volcker report provided no evidence and no documents to support the allegations that it made. Natwar said that by not referring to Shringla's October 30, 2005 letter, both Justice RS Pathak and the Manmohan Singh Government seemed to have deliberately ignored it. Singh is expected to make a statement in the Rajya Sabha tomorrow that could be dramatic.

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