08-08-2006, 12:50 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Why is Congress afraid to act? </b>
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Akhilesh Suman | New Delhi
Natwar Singh may have committed the ultimate sin by filing a privilege motion against his own party's Prime Minister, <b>but the Congress does not seem to have the courage to take action against him.</b> <!--emo&
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Even as the former foreign minister, who has positioned himself as a symbol of anti-Americanism, flirts with the leaders of both the Left and Right camps as well as Sonia-baiters George Fernandes and Amar Singh, the Congress is still waiting for the appropriate time to act.
"Appropriate action will be taken at an appropriate time," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi told reporters. "What action will be taken against Natwar Singh will depend upon the disposal of the privilege notice in both Houses of Parliament, and till the Congress Party studies the Pathak Committee report in detail," he added.
At the same time, <b>Dasmunshi tried to sound conciliatory, "Natwar Singh has served the party for long time and the whole thing is unfortunate. He has figured in the report not for any financial benefit but just for the letters he had written to some Iraqi authorities."</b>
Another senior Congress leader said that politics is the game of managing the crisis and that efforts were on from the <b>Congress to persuade Natwar Singh to stop playing into the hands of anti-Congress forces</b>. <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->Â
Sources said that the <b>Congress managers were making eleventh hour efforts to persuade Natwar Singh to keep Sonia Gandhi out of his line of fire. However, so far the Jat leader has refused all such overtures</b>.
On Sunday, Dasmunshi called up Natwar on the telephone five times but gave up as Natwar did not come on the line.
Meanwhile on Monday, sources close to Natwar Singh said that BJP leader Yashwant Sinha and JD(U) leader Digvijay Singh met him at his residence after the House was adjourned for the day. Observers feel that he was advised by the duo not to speak his version before the media but to wait to make a statement in the House itself.
Sources in the Congress told The Pioneer that senior <b>Congress leader Oscar Fernandes has also been asked to mollify Natwar Singh. The only concession which Natwar has made so far is to say that his privilege motion is not against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, but against the institution of the PMO</b>.
However, sources in Parliamentary Affairs Ministry said that the language of Natwar's privilege notice indicts the Prime Minister himself for the alleged leakage of the Pathak Committee Report.
There is a feeling in the Congress that the privilege notice against the Prime Minister will not be accepted by the Speaker of Lok Sabha and Chairman of Rajya Sabha, but what can happen at the most, is that the Prime Minister may have to issue a statement of regret in both the Houses on the leakage of the report. During the NDA regime, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had done the same on a privilege notice by senior Congress leader Dasmunshi himself.
As far as investigations of the leakage was concerned, Congress feels that the way the NDA and the Samajwadi Party have reacted on the issue, is part of a strategy to create trouble for the UPA.
To a question if the Government proposes any action against the media for the leak, Dasmunshi said, "Under the rule, a journalist is bound to disclose his sources as far as privilege of Parliament is concerned. But we don't want to go to the extent of grilling a journalist in this matter."
<b>While the Congress is trying hard to soften Natwar Singh, it is ready to debate the Pathak Committee report in both the Houses where Natwar will also get a chance to speak. However, the party is not willing to give Natwar Singh a chance to make a statement on the issue outside the purview of the debate.</b>
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COngress is scared. Natwar will disclose everything. Let see how low Congress will go to appease Natwar.
Protecting Queen is very important for COngress managers's roti, khoti.
link
Akhilesh Suman | New Delhi
Natwar Singh may have committed the ultimate sin by filing a privilege motion against his own party's Prime Minister, <b>but the Congress does not seem to have the courage to take action against him.</b> <!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo--> Even as the former foreign minister, who has positioned himself as a symbol of anti-Americanism, flirts with the leaders of both the Left and Right camps as well as Sonia-baiters George Fernandes and Amar Singh, the Congress is still waiting for the appropriate time to act.
"Appropriate action will be taken at an appropriate time," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi told reporters. "What action will be taken against Natwar Singh will depend upon the disposal of the privilege notice in both Houses of Parliament, and till the Congress Party studies the Pathak Committee report in detail," he added.
At the same time, <b>Dasmunshi tried to sound conciliatory, "Natwar Singh has served the party for long time and the whole thing is unfortunate. He has figured in the report not for any financial benefit but just for the letters he had written to some Iraqi authorities."</b>
Another senior Congress leader said that politics is the game of managing the crisis and that efforts were on from the <b>Congress to persuade Natwar Singh to stop playing into the hands of anti-Congress forces</b>. <!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->Â Sources said that the <b>Congress managers were making eleventh hour efforts to persuade Natwar Singh to keep Sonia Gandhi out of his line of fire. However, so far the Jat leader has refused all such overtures</b>.
On Sunday, Dasmunshi called up Natwar on the telephone five times but gave up as Natwar did not come on the line.
Meanwhile on Monday, sources close to Natwar Singh said that BJP leader Yashwant Sinha and JD(U) leader Digvijay Singh met him at his residence after the House was adjourned for the day. Observers feel that he was advised by the duo not to speak his version before the media but to wait to make a statement in the House itself.
Sources in the Congress told The Pioneer that senior <b>Congress leader Oscar Fernandes has also been asked to mollify Natwar Singh. The only concession which Natwar has made so far is to say that his privilege motion is not against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, but against the institution of the PMO</b>.
However, sources in Parliamentary Affairs Ministry said that the language of Natwar's privilege notice indicts the Prime Minister himself for the alleged leakage of the Pathak Committee Report.
There is a feeling in the Congress that the privilege notice against the Prime Minister will not be accepted by the Speaker of Lok Sabha and Chairman of Rajya Sabha, but what can happen at the most, is that the Prime Minister may have to issue a statement of regret in both the Houses on the leakage of the report. During the NDA regime, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had done the same on a privilege notice by senior Congress leader Dasmunshi himself.
As far as investigations of the leakage was concerned, Congress feels that the way the NDA and the Samajwadi Party have reacted on the issue, is part of a strategy to create trouble for the UPA.
To a question if the Government proposes any action against the media for the leak, Dasmunshi said, "Under the rule, a journalist is bound to disclose his sources as far as privilege of Parliament is concerned. But we don't want to go to the extent of grilling a journalist in this matter."
<b>While the Congress is trying hard to soften Natwar Singh, it is ready to debate the Pathak Committee report in both the Houses where Natwar will also get a chance to speak. However, the party is not willing to give Natwar Singh a chance to make a statement on the issue outside the purview of the debate.</b>
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COngress is scared. Natwar will disclose everything. Let see how low Congress will go to appease Natwar.
Protecting Queen is very important for COngress managers's roti, khoti.