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| Natwar working towards his expulsion from Cong | | His utility is being seen in lambasting Sonia's party | | B L KAK
NEW DELHI: Clearer than before is Natwar Singh's tomorrow. He is ready to sever his long ties with the ruling Congress party. What is there for him in the party, which has susppened him, and which has hurt his ego?
The tone and tenor adopted by him in berting senior leaders of the party, including Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, showed that he is working towards his expulsion from the party. That will enable him to join a rival party without attracting disqualification as a lawmaker.
Both Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) are currently wooing the 75-year-old diplomat-turned-politician with an eye on the upcoming crucial Uttar Pradesh elections. Being a Jat from Rajasthan, Natwar Singh may have a limited role to play in Uttar Pradesh other than in the Jat-dominated western parts.
However, his utility is being seen in lambasting the Congress party since he was seen as a close confidante of the Nehru-Gandhi family due to his proximity with former Prime Ministers, Indira Gandhi, her son, Rajiv Gandhi, and Rajiv's widow and incumbent Congress president, Sonia Gandhi. Natwar Singh was suspended from the Congress party on August 8 for breaking discipline and has been served a formal notice after his outbursts against Manmohan Singh.
He accused the Prime Minister's Office of leaking the Justice R.S. Pathak authority report indicting him in the Iraqi oil for food scandal. Manmohan Singh had to postpone his visit to flood-hit areas of Maharashtra and Gujarat as his stay in the capital became crucial for the party with l'affaire Natwar promising to rock Parliament this week.
Reiterating that he was "hurt" and "bitter" over his suspension from a party he has served for over two decades, Natwar Singh maintained he was innocent and charged two of his former cabinet colleagues, whom he did not name, with conspiracy to frame him in the Iraqi oil-for-food corruption scandal that has embroiled politicians and officials in several countries.
Natwar Singh also had several meetings with the same political leaders who had demanded his resignation as External Affairs Minister last year for his alleged involvement in the Iraq oil deal. He found common cause with Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh and others like former External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha, and Shatrughan Sinha of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (United) leader, Digvijay Singh, also a former Minister.
This group of MPs, referred to as "nuclear club", was trying to build a loose coalition that included the Telugu Desam Party and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and elements of the Left parties. The idea is to embarrass the latter by pushing for a Parliament resolution against the nuclear deal with the United States. |
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