New Delhi
9 August 2006
Natwar Singh on Wednesday upped the ante by saying that both the
Justice RS Pathak Inquiry Authority and the UPA Government had "deliberately ignored"
certain vital inputs from the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations in New
York. The Indian mission's message raised questions about the "authenticity and
veracity" of the Paul Adolf Volcker's report on the United Nations Oil-For-Food
Programme and hinted at the possibility of a witch hunt by Washington to discredit its
critics.
"A vital input which was available to the Manmohan Singh Government and to Justice RS
Pathak [seems to have been] deliberately ignored," Natwar Singh's son Jagat said
reading out from a prepared statement. "For the last few months, a malicious campaign
has been mounted against me [which] has subjected me to a painful inquisition thereby
questioning my honour and integrity and my political and diplomatic credentials acquired
over my life time," the statement read. opies of the message written by the Indian
mission in New York were distributed to media.
"[I] would like to point out that now Justice Pathak's inquiry has in its own convoluted
way totally discredited the basis of Paul Volcker's allegations. In addition, 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," Natwar Singh said in his statement.
Giving a "detailed analysis of the IIC and its final report", the message written by "Harsh
Vardhan Shringla, Minister" in the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations
wrote on October 30, 2005: "While some exceptions such as the rulers of UAE and Qatar
do figure, by and large, those in the list consist of entities or individuals that were
opposed to the sanctions regime and the hardships that it imposed on the people of Iraq.
The prominence of Communist or Socialist Parties in the list as well and representatives
from developing countries highlights this premise."
The message titled "Final Report on the Oil-for-Food Programme Investigation" written by
Harsh Vardhan Shringla to "Joint Secretary (UNP), MEA, New Delhi" suggested that
certain considerations would have to be kept in mind while considering the report. "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. No evidence has been cited
and no documentation given on most of the allegations made. Due process was not
observed because none of the non-commercial entities were asked, through PMI, to
respond to the allegations," it read.
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