O J's Corner : Reflections

Natwar’s  antics

Former External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh would not give up without a fight, it seems. He would flaunt any convenient card, of being a Jat or having a royal lineage.

The Congress would not have him anywhere near its vicinity, after Paul Volcker Committee and R S Pathak Committee found him wanting in doing public service. His involvement in procuring coupons from Saddam Hussein for oil has been exposed. Now that the wrong-doing has been doing the rounds the world over, it would be next to impossible for his being reinstated by the Congress, either in the party or the government.

When he was the External Affairs Minister, he was not amenable to function in close proximity with Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who was considered inferior to him in matters of foreign affairs. Therefore, he should not expect the Prime Minister to sympathise with him for rehabilitation. Natwar Singh was close to the Nehru family. All these years he has had access to 10 Janpath, Sonia Gandhi’s residence. Now it would be unwise for the Congress and Sonia Gandhi to project him as the victim of conspiracy. The mischief has been done and he should bear with it.

In this connection, one should salute Madhav Sinh Solanki who was once the External Affairs Minister. His involvement in getting the Bofors investigation delayed on the Swiss side was exposed. He lost no time in putting the papers. The nice guy he was, he did not go about justifying his action. For every action, there should be accountability. Solanki took the responsibility on himself. Now Natwar Singh should pay the price.

One may argue he did everything for the Congress. The fact that he was following the advice of someone in the Congress would not absolve him of responsibility. One may be following the diktat of another, but that does not mean he is innocent.

Natwar Singh’s antics in moving a privilege motion against the Prime Minister, attempting to corner the support of Opposition parties and playing the part of the innocent may not win him laurels.

Samajwadi Party is welcoming him with open arms. It has an axe to grind with the Congress. Natwar Singh is also trying to woo the left parties by joining the anti-American bandwagon. By now it is not clear what the attitude of the BJP would be.

BJP itself is in discomfiture at present, with former External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh making a fool of himself by projecting the mole-in-Narasimha Rao government theory. He was not able to spell out the mole when confronted to do so by Manmohan Singh. Instead of going round and round, Jaswant Singh should have blurted out the name. But he chose to leave a nebulous apparition in the polity and governance.

In the churning process, we chance upon so-called entities of bloated intellectual acumen falling flat on the reality ground. They are paying a price for their adventurism.

Samajwadi Party may cash in on some Jat votes. This is only temporary gain.
The Left may get one more voice against America. But reality cannot be ignored.