The Hindu : Front Page : Congress deliberates on report

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Nov 05, 2005

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Front Page

Congress deliberates on report

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Friday continued its discussions on the political controversy it has been drawn into following the Volcker report. This even as the Manmohan Singh Government deliberated on the nature and scope of the probe it plans to conduct into the report.

The Congress and External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh have been named "non-contractual beneficiaries" in the oil-for-food contracts finalised during the Saddam Hussein regime in 2001.

Having announced the government's decision to "go to the root" of the matter, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and other senior Ministers met here. A senior Minister has been entrusted with working out the legal issues and determining what kind of inquiry is required.

The Congress has conducted a through check of its accounts to see if funds were received.

The party is also checking whether any of its frontal organisations, such as the Youth Congress, sent official delegations abroad, as mentioned in news reports.

A senior leader has been asked to prepare the legal notice that the party plans to serve on the U.N. and the Volcker Committee, according to sources. In a related development, the former Prime Minister, Chandra Shekhar, and Communist Party of India general secretary A.B. Bardhan have come out in support of Mr. Natwar Singh.

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