New Delhi: The axe has finally fallen on former external affairs minister Natwar Singh.
Buckling under Opposition's mounting presure, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has sacked him from the Congress Steering Committee.
The decision came hours after Singh refused to resign from the Congress over the new revelations in the Volcker controversy.
The decision was taken at a high level meeting presided over by Sonia Gandhi.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was not present at the meeting since he is in Moscow on a state visit. The Steering Committee is, at present, the highest decision making body of the Congress party.
The decision to remove Natwar Singh from the Committee was taken well past last midnight, an indication good enough of how seriously the Congress is taking Opposition NDA's volleys on the Volcker report.
"It will not be right for Natwar Singh to continue in the Congress steering committee under the circumstances," Ambika Soni, senior Congress leader, said.
The decision to remove Natwar comes a day after he made clear that he had no intentions of resigning from the party.
The move is being seen as a moral victory for the Opposition which had upped its ante and was ready to go in fro a kill in Monday?s Parliament session.
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The BJP has already made it clear that they will adopt an aggresive stance in Monday's Parliament session.
"We will be focusing on the Volcker issue in Parliament and our attack will be very focussed," Prakash Javedekar, BJP spokesperson, said on Sunday.
The NDA, which is already facing an internal crisis after the Uma Bharti episode, is more than happy using the Volcker issue as a diversionary tactic in Monday?s session of Parliament.
An NDA delegation has also indicated that it will visit Rashtrapati Bhavan and request the President to step in.
Countdown for Jagat
The noose is also tightening around Natwar Singh?s son Jagat Singh, who has also been named as one of the primary beneficiaries of the oil-for-food programme.
Initially Jagat had claimed he had gone to Iraq as part of a Youth Congress delegation, but after the-then Youth Congress chief Randeep Surjewala denied of having send any such delegation, Jagat had to back out.
"It was good opportunity to meet the activists there. Therefore, I went. Congress Party didn't buy my ticket and was I not a part of their delegation. To say that I appeared there suddenly, is wrong," Jagat Singh said.
The biggest casualty in this winter session has been legislative proceedings of the Parliament. But with stakes as high as this, it isn't surprising that party interests rise above everything else.
(with inputs from Narendra Nag)
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