Sonia to go into Natwar's tirade against Cong

New Delhi, Apr 28: Congress President Sonia Gandhi will discuss with senior party leaders, Mr Natwar Singh's latest tirade against the organisation and the UPA government on the issues of Iraqi food-for-oil scam and the Indo-US nuclear deal.

The critical remarks of Mr Natwar Singh, who was stripped of the External Affairs portfolio before being dropped from the Cabinet and the Congress Working Committee (CWC) following reports on the scam, would be discussed ''at the highest level'' in the party, AICC Spokesman Rajiv Shukla told reporters.

Mr Natwar Singh had, in an interview to a television channel yesterday, vent out his bitter feelings for the attempt to make him and his son, Jagat Singh, the sole target of the charges of corruption in the UN food-for-oil scheme for Iraq following the report of the independent Paul Volcker committee which had named him and the Congress party as non-contractual beneficiaries of the scam.

Mr Natwar Singh also had asked the UPA government to explain to Parliament and the people the attempts in the US to impose new conditions for the implementation of the nuclear deal with India.

Replying to questions over the contradictory statements of HRD Minister Arjun Singh and Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal on the reservation proposal for OBCs in government-run educational institutions, Mr Shukla said ''these things do happen.'' Anyway, Parliament had amended the Constitution to provide for such a reservation and the percentage and other aspects of reservation would be taken by the Cabinet, he said.

While Mr Arjun Singh had only recalled what Parliament had passed, Mr Sibal had expressed his ''personal views'' in some specific context which ''I am not aware of,'' Mr Shukla said.

UNI