The Indian PM stripped foreign minister Natwar Singh of rank today after Singh was fingered by a report on the U.N. oil-for-food scandal.
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| Why you gotta be all up in my grill? |
It’s not clear yet whether the move will be merely cosmetic or permanent:
India’s foreign minister was stripped of his post Monday over allegations that he benefited illegally from the U.N. oil-for-food program in Iraq, becoming the first political casualty of an independent report that revealed massive corruption in the effort to help Iraqis suffering under sanctions. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh… demoted him to minister without portfolio…The independent inquiry, headed by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, has accused more than 2,200 companies and prominent politicians worldwide of colluding with Saddam Hussein’s regime to bilk the oil-for-food program of $1.8 billion in kickbacks and illicit surcharges. It named Singh and the ruling Congress party as a ”non-contractual beneficiary…”
NDTV, a local television news channel, reported that Singh will get his portfolio back if Pathak’s investigation clears him. [Link]
The PM has begun an internal investigation:
Virendra Dayal, a former UN under secretary-general and a former member of the National Human Rights Commission, will liaise with the world body and its member states to gather information on the Indian deals mentioned in the Paul Volcker report… His appointment will be for an initial term of three months or until the completion of his task, whichever is earlier. [Link]
There has already been a famous ‘Dayal commission‘ which investigated Ahmedabad riots in 1967.
As always, India was first in line against government corruption 
Singh’s demotion was the first government action taken against an acting official since the independent report was released two weeks ago. [Link]
the caption, alone, makes my day.
Lol, I was gonna say the same. The caption is priceless.
I’m actually surprised the Congress party took a relatively strong stance on this. Usually they prefer to try and ride it out until the guy is practically in jail.
The move makes sense and has little to do with cracking down on corruption. Natwar Singh and Manmohan Singh had vastly different visions for Indian foreign policy and rumors swirled that Natwar frequently bypassed MS while making important policy decisions; MS is FAR more pro-US than NAM-nostalgic Natwar.
He’s using the Report to get rid of Natwar (NOT popular with Washington) at a time when the US-India nuclear energy deal is up for consideration by Congress. Demoting him sends a strong message to Washington that an anti-US thorn in Indian foreign policy is now out of the way. It’s also a sign that MS is consolidating power within the Congress Party (with Madam Gandhi’s blessing of course).
Here’s a good article from the BBC on The Natwar Affair.
Good riddance to bad rubbish. Nut-War is a ancient relic of India’s old Soviet-loving leftist establishment whose place is righfully in the dustbin. The guy actually riled up against the US for, among other things, defeating communism and breaking up the Soviet Union! Shouldn’t be too hard for India to find someone better. Hopefully, Manmohan Singh can continue to hold on to his portfolio and pursue a foreign policy driven by India’s national interests, as he seems to have done pretty well so far.
of the periodiacls:only outlook has carried ‘cover story’ on this even as the contravarsy is unfolding. india today and week might give covers,nowthat the contravarsy has become even more hot topic.lets see if they give or not.