Natwar Singh to author 'Against Volcker'

New Delhi, May 29: After being marginalised in the Congress over the UN oil-for-food scam, former External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh is mooting the idea of putting pen to paper to expose the names of those who allegedly hatched a conspiracy to frame him and besmirched his reputation The book, to be titled 'Against Volcker' is to remove the 'taint' from his name, sources close to the former Minister told UNI.

Mr Singh considers himself to be ''innocent and above board'' and believes that the day is not far when he would be able to clear his name from the scam, the sources added.

In his 75 years of life, Mr Singh has held ministerial posts for seven years and he links the wealth accumulated by him to the income earned by him over the period of 75 years and not to those seven years during which he remained a minister.

The former diplomat is also ''aggrieved'' over the fact that the Justice R S Pathak Inquiry Authority was set up to inquire his role in the scam, but he firmly believes that one day the taint attached to his name will be cleansed, the sources informed.

The Pathak Inquiry Authority was set up to investigate the allegations of kickbacks received by an Indian Minister and the Congress Party in the UN Oil-For-Food Programme. The controversy broke out after the report of the committee headed by Mr Paul Volcker, former Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve.

Mr Singh had also sent a missive to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over his alleged role in the scam.

Mr Singh considers the six-month-tenure of the Pathak Inquiry Authority equal to six years, and the Union Government's decision to extend its tenure by three months is also being seen by him equal to three years, the sources assert.

The former minister considers these nine months to be the worst time of his life and that is why he now wants to give these months the shape of a book and wants the whole world to know the truth behind the scam once and for all, the sources added.

UNI