Slipping on oil

Minister of external affairs, K. Natwar Singh, is discovering the properties of petroleum. Not only is this bituminous liquid notoriously slippery, it has the additional property of being extremely flammable. The minister is therefore advised to face up to the revelations made in United Nations8217; Oil-For-Food Programme Report, anchored by Paul A. Volcker, and clear his name. He has to do this not just to uphold the credibility of the UPA government, but his own.

Every passing day seems to make his position as a senior minister in the Manmohan Singh Cabinet more untenable. This newspaper has just investigated into the scandal and has established a remarkable coincidence: Natwar Singh8217;s son Jagat Singh and his personal friend 8212; whose firm was the direct beneficiary of an illicit deal struck with the Saddam Hussein government 8212; seemed to have had remarkably similar travel plans in 2001 on two occasions. Both men were in the Jordanian capital of Amman, or in the region, around the same time. More intriguingly, they were there when the transactions involving the 8220;illegal surcharge payments8221; the Volcker report talks about, were being deposited in the Jordan National Bank. Now all this 8212; although it does appear highly unlikely 8212; may be just a coincidence. But the fact remains that Natwar Singh has been listed as a beneficiary of Iraqi oil sales by the Volcker report after a credible process of inquiry and he needs to disprove this beyond reasonable doubt.

The UPA government has just reiterated its solemn determination to get to the root of the 8220;unverified references8221; made against the Congress party and its external affairs minister. We would urge it to do so with the utmost urgency and have already suggested that it institute an independent probe. But on Natwar Singh falls the urgent obligation to face up to the serious charges levelled against him. Dodging the issue by insinuating that the Volcker report is biased cannot get him out of the spreading oil slick.