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| Amar Singh distances from Natwar Singh | | | NEW DELHI, AUG 12
Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh today distanced himself from the suspended Congress leader Natwar Singh, saying the developments regarding the former External Affairs Minister were internal matter of the Congress party. "Let me make it very clear that the Natwar Singh issue is the internal matter of the Congress party," the Samajwadi Party leader, who came to be known as one of the "new found friends" of Natwar Singh in the wake of his indictment by the Pathak Authority, told reporters here. He said ever since the Pathak Committee report indicted Natwar Singh and "we came into contact with each other", a malicious campaign has been launched branding "me as a tutor and coach....." of Natwar who had recently attacked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. "I am neither his tutor nor coach.... I am a toddler. I was born in 1956 when Natwar was a seasoned diplomat representing India in China. He is forefather of diplomacy," he said adding that he himself was "distancing from this dirty campaign".
Amar Singh emphasised that the meetings he and other non-Congress leaders had with Natwar were in connection with the Indo-US nuclear deal as it was a key issue concerning the country's security.
He said Yashwant Singh, Digvijay Singh have been former Foreign Affairs ministers and "we along with Natwar Singh exchanged views on Indo-U.S. nuclear deals and there won't be any compromise on the issue".
Asked why he took this "sudden" decision to dissociate from Natwar Singh, the vocal Samajwadi leader said in the presence of senior party leader Janeshwar Mishra that "we will still stand by him as firmly as we have been. I am close to the former External Affairs Minister and will continue to be so at a personal level in future too".
"We will also support him in Parliament when he would be speaking on the Pathak Committe report", the SP leader said adding that it is to maintain the "dignity and decorum of the House that we agreed to abide by the ruling of the Chair on the Privilege notice".
He also made it clear that on the issue of leakage of the Pathak Committee, the SP was with Natwar and it would continue to be with him on the points raised by him on the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal, on Non-Aligned Movement and American President George Bush's anti-Muslim comments.
Asked if the "downturn" was due to the fact that Samajwadi Party leaders failed to get Natwar to go against Congress Chief Gandhi, Amar Singh said "I had no strategy. I have no strategy in this regard.
"We are with Natwar till the goalpost is not shifted", Amar Singh said adding that his party was not opposing the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal for the sake of opposition.
Asked if the party has ever offered membership to Natwar Singh, he said "not officially. We had offered him party membership when former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao expelled him from the party. Again we offered him Rajya Sabha seat (vacated by Anil Ambani).
Asked whether SP would welcome him into the party, he quipped "let him apply for the membership then we will consider".
To a pointed question whether SP considered him guilty in Oil-for-Food programme, Amar Singh said there had been two standards adopted by the Congress party and its UPA government on the issue.
"While Natwar was dragged to the office of Enforcenment Directorate, Mukesh Ambani (RIL), one of the largest non- contractual beneficiaries, was personally exempted from appearing before it", he said.
He asked "if Quattrochchi's corruption is not linked with the Congress High Command, then how come Andaleeb Sehgal's crime is linked with Natwar Singh".
"It is now the turn of Natwar Singh. But it is now solely on him to decide whether he would sacrifice his neck in defence of the Congress high Command", he said.
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