New Delhi: After his sensational disclosure that revealed former external affairs minister K Natwar Singh received oil allotments from the Saddam Hussein regime creating a political uproar, India's ambassador to Croatia Aniel Mathrani arrived in New Delhi on late Saturday night.
He was immediately taken by investigators to an unknown location for questioning.
Mathrani, who had told India Today that Natwar had received huge pay-offs in Iraq oil-for-food programme, later retracted his statement saying that he was quoted "off-record" by the magazine.
Mathrani has worked closely with the former foreign minister Natwar Singh in the foreign affairs department. He was also a Member of the Congress delegation to Iraq in 2001
A breather, but for how long?
Meanwhile, former external affairs minister Natwar Singh, who?s turning out to be a political embarrassment for the UPA, met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday leading to speculation that he may be asked to quit the Cabinet.
But according to PMO sources, neither the PM asked him to remit his position in the party nor did Natwar himself offered to resign.
This has given Natwar a breather before a decision on his fate is made.
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Natwar Singh has turned into a political hot potato for Congress which appears to be in a fix in the wake of stepped up Opposition campaign on the Iraqi oil payoffs
Despite a sizable section of the party wanting him to quit in the larger interests of the organisation, his failure to bite the bullet has left him with little admirers.
There?s a growing opinion in the party that Natwar should rise above his personal ambitions and offer to resign.
The reaction of a senior AICC office bearer that "no one leaves, without being kicked" aptly sums up the sentiments of this section which is concerned over the attempts to target Sonia Gandhi in the issue.
A ministerial colleague of Singh said that the Minister without portfolio has become an embarassment for the government and the party and therefore should take the hint and quit voluntarily.
But after Natwar's meeting with Manmohan, that scenario seems to be completely out of picture.
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