The day after, a Natwar show of strength: ‘I’m no coward’

A day after he was stripped off the foreign affairs portfolio, Natwar Singh tried to make up for the absence of support within Congress over...

A day after he was stripped off the foreign affairs portfolio, Natwar Singh tried to make up for the absence of support within Congress over allegations in UN’s Volcker Committee report with a ‘‘stage-managed’’ demonstration of mass solidarity at his residence. As supporters from his native Bharatpur and the adjacent Alwar districts poured in, Singh sought to don the mantle of a fighter. ‘‘I am not a coward,’’ he told supporters and vowed to answer allegations against himself in a speech in Parliament, which is scheduled to meet on November 23.

Seeking to convert the oil-for-food into a national cause, he asked the audience: ‘‘Do you think any Indian would do it? I will not do anything which will force me or you to hang heads in shame. The Congress is a big party. It was formed in 1885. How old is the BJP? They are not even worth a mention. Do you believe the Congress, which belongs to leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel and Rajendra Prasad can sell oil for money? If somebody levels this kind of allegations, he should feel ashamed.’’

Stressing that it was not a show of strength, he turned hospitable to the visitors. ‘‘You must have tea or food before you leave, you are my family,’’ he told them. His supporters responded by shouting: ‘‘Rajasthan ka ek hi singh, Natwar Singh, Natwar Singh’’ (There is only one lion of Rajasthan, Natwar Singh).

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Pledging to maintain discipline in the party, he asked his supporters not to cause any disturbance in the area. He said, ‘‘I am still a Cabinet minister and a member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC). There will not be any indiscipline.’’

Welcoming the institution of an inquiry by former chief justice of India R.S. Pathak and appointment of Virendra Dayal to collect documents related to the Volcker probe, he said, ‘‘It was me who had demanded the investigation. I am not afraid of any probe.’’ He also referred to the statement of UN under secretary Shashi Tharoor that those mentioned in the Volcker report cannot be presumed to be guilty.

Questioning the credentials of the BJP for seeking his resignation, Singh said BJP president L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi did not resign as ministers even after they were chargesheeted.

Speaking in the same vein, his son Jagat Singh said, ‘‘My father and Congress party have full faith in the inquiry announced by the government and we will like the truth to be out as early as possible.’’

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Attributing the controversy to ‘‘BJP and others,’’ he said, ‘‘Our party has been dragged into it.’’ ‘‘The party,’’ according to him, ‘‘has done everything it can to defend itself and my father.’’

Kasuri calls up Natwar

Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid M Kasuri on Tuesday called up Natwar Singh and appreciated his efforts towards furthering the Indo-Pak peace process. Kasuri, an old friend of Natwar, said he was sorry to learn that he had given up the External Affairs portfolio and wished him well. —ENS

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