12-09-2005, 12:53 AM
Sonia knew it and tried to cover whole scandal.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Congress was aware of Jagat's trip to Iraq in Nov: Matherani </b>
Pioneer News Service / New Delhi
Former Indian Ambassador to Croatia and key witness in the Volcker oil-for-food scam Aniel Matherani disclosed on Thursday that even before his explosive interview to a news magazine, <b>the Congress leadership was aware of the inclusion of Natwar Singh's son Jagat Singh and his friend Andaleeb Sehgal in the four </b>-member official Congress delegation which visited Iraq in 2001.
<b>Mr Matherani on Thursday said the Congress leadership called him after the Volcker findings were made public in October-November and asked for a clarification, as he was the only member of the delegation to be present in Delhi</b>.
"There was a sense of disbelief in the party," he said, adding that<b> he informed the Congress leadership about the itinerary and the meetings that took place during the delegation's visit to Iraq.</b>Mr Matherani said he had informed the Congress leadership about the inclusion of Jagat Singh and his friend Andaleeb Sehgal by Mr Natwar Singh in the Congress delegation to Iraq in 2001.
<b>Mr Matherani's revelations to the media on Thursday will leave the Congress and the UPA Government red-faced</b>.<b> The party and the Government will find it difficult to explain why Mr Matherani was allowed to go back to Croatia and why the ED did not straightaway question him.</b>
[Sonia and Manmohan coverup]
This was the first time Mr Matherani spoke to the media after his four-day interrogation by the ED and other intelligence agencies.<b>The sense of urgency shown by the UPA Government in hounding Mr Matherani who was virtually abducted from the airport on his arrival from Croatia, has now begun to look suspicious considering that the Government sat over his information for nearly a month.</b>
It is obvious that people in the Government did not realise that Mr Matherani would spill the beans and place it in the dock.<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'> Ms Sonia Gandhi arm-twisted Mr Natwar Singh to resign from the Union Cabinet by throwing him out of the Congress Steering Committee only after Mr Matherani's interview to the magazine led to a major political uproar. If she was so concerned about the seriousness of Mr Matherani's revelations the action could have come long ago. </span>
Mr Matherani refused to name the Congress leaders he met after the controversy triggered by the UN-appointed Volcker Committee into the alleged Iraqi oil payoffs broke out. Asked about different statements given by Mr P Shiv Shanker and Mr AR Antulay, the other members of the Congress delegation to Iraq, Mr Matherani said, "that is not my problem. I have said what I had to say."
<b>Asked whether he was aware of any financial transactions of the alleged oil payoffs, he replied in the negative.</b>
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Congress was aware of Jagat's trip to Iraq in Nov: Matherani </b>
Pioneer News Service / New Delhi
Former Indian Ambassador to Croatia and key witness in the Volcker oil-for-food scam Aniel Matherani disclosed on Thursday that even before his explosive interview to a news magazine, <b>the Congress leadership was aware of the inclusion of Natwar Singh's son Jagat Singh and his friend Andaleeb Sehgal in the four </b>-member official Congress delegation which visited Iraq in 2001.
<b>Mr Matherani on Thursday said the Congress leadership called him after the Volcker findings were made public in October-November and asked for a clarification, as he was the only member of the delegation to be present in Delhi</b>.
"There was a sense of disbelief in the party," he said, adding that<b> he informed the Congress leadership about the itinerary and the meetings that took place during the delegation's visit to Iraq.</b>Mr Matherani said he had informed the Congress leadership about the inclusion of Jagat Singh and his friend Andaleeb Sehgal by Mr Natwar Singh in the Congress delegation to Iraq in 2001.
<b>Mr Matherani's revelations to the media on Thursday will leave the Congress and the UPA Government red-faced</b>.<b> The party and the Government will find it difficult to explain why Mr Matherani was allowed to go back to Croatia and why the ED did not straightaway question him.</b>
[Sonia and Manmohan coverup]
This was the first time Mr Matherani spoke to the media after his four-day interrogation by the ED and other intelligence agencies.<b>The sense of urgency shown by the UPA Government in hounding Mr Matherani who was virtually abducted from the airport on his arrival from Croatia, has now begun to look suspicious considering that the Government sat over his information for nearly a month.</b>
It is obvious that people in the Government did not realise that Mr Matherani would spill the beans and place it in the dock.<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'> Ms Sonia Gandhi arm-twisted Mr Natwar Singh to resign from the Union Cabinet by throwing him out of the Congress Steering Committee only after Mr Matherani's interview to the magazine led to a major political uproar. If she was so concerned about the seriousness of Mr Matherani's revelations the action could have come long ago. </span>
Mr Matherani refused to name the Congress leaders he met after the controversy triggered by the UN-appointed Volcker Committee into the alleged Iraqi oil payoffs broke out. Asked about different statements given by Mr P Shiv Shanker and Mr AR Antulay, the other members of the Congress delegation to Iraq, Mr Matherani said, "that is not my problem. I have said what I had to say."
<b>Asked whether he was aware of any financial transactions of the alleged oil payoffs, he replied in the negative.</b>
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