Who leaked Pathak report to the media?

New Delhi, Aug 4: Who leaked the controversial Pathak Committee report on Iraq's 'Oil-for-Food' Programme to the media? This question was doing rounds in official and political circles today after the Opposition forced adjournment of Parliament, demanding the government to investigate how the contents of the report appeared in the media when Parliament was in session.

On his part, Justice Raghunandan Swarup Pathak, who inquired into the scam, ruled out any leak at his end of the report he submitted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram also denied that anybody in the government had leaked the Justice Pathak Committee report.

''The only copy or copies of the Justice Pathak committee probing the oil-for-food scam were submitted to the Prime Minister yesterday... even I have not got a copy until now,'' he told mediapersons.

The Government will deal very firmly with the leakage of the Pathak Committee report on the Volcker allegations and have it investigated by an agency, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi said.

''The leakage issue will be dealt with very firmly by the Government.... we will let you know very soon the manner and time frame of the probe to be conducted by a investigating agency,'' he said, adressing a joint press conference of the UPA constituents in the Parliament House premises.

Reacting to media queries outside Parliament, Mr Natwar Singh said he had lots to disclose and if pushed to the wall, he would spill the beans ''at a proper time'' and when the occasion arose. On the R S Pathak report which went into the findings of Volcker Committee, he said, ''I am totally vindicated. I am totally innocent. Justice Pathak has given me and my son a clean chit.'' He added that he would make a substantive statement after going through the report.

However, the UPA and its allies collectively came down heavily on the BJP for disrupting the proceedings of the Lok Sabha frequently, not allowing any discussion to take place on matters of urgent public importance and thereby ''hijacking the House.'' ''The hijacking of the house at crucial occasions is condemnable.

We collectively condemn it,'' CPI-M's Basudeb Acharia, Gurudas Dasgupta (CPI), C Kuppusami (DMK), and Devendra Prasad Yadav (RJD) said at a joint press conference along with Parliamentary Affairs Ministry Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi in the Parliament House premises.

UNI