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Natwar removed from decision-making circle

OUR CORRESPONDENT, New Delhi
India's former external affairs minister K Natwar Singh, alleged to have benefited from payoffs in the oil-for-food programme during Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, was removed from the top decisionmaking committee of the ruling Congress party yesterday.
Meanwhile, Natwar is planning to take legal action against Aniel
Matherani, India's ambassador to Croatia, for his comments in a newsmagazine about Natwar's involvement in the illegal payoffs.
The decision to remove Natwar from the party's Steering Committee was taken at a meeting of senior Congress leaders in the early hours yesterday at the residence of party chief Sonia Gandhi. Congress General Secretary
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Ambika Soni announced the decision.
The removal of Natwar from the Steering Committee came a few weeks after he was divested of external affairs portfolio in the wake of the reportby tne UN committee headed by former US federal reserve head PaulVolcker.
The report said the Indian minister and the Congress party were among non-contractual beneficiaries of illegal surcharges paid by business firms and politicians across the world for securing contracts in Iraq.
Although Natwar was stripped of his portfolio, he continued to be in the cabinet of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as a minister withoutportfolio.
Natwar's easing out of Congress Steering Committee came hours after he had ruled out resignation fromthe cabinet.
He said, “1 am not guilty of any wrong-doing in law orspirit. I refuse to sacrifice myself. I am aware that if I do that it will not stop with me. The opposition will use my resignation to further tarnish the reputation of the Congress party. I will not let that happen."
Congress sources said his statement appeared to have sealed ills fate as far his being a member of the Steering Committee was concerned.
When asked if he would accept Natwar's resignation, Manmohan Singh told reporters accompanying him to his Moscow visit on Sunday night that if Natwar voluntarily decided to quitthecabinet. he would consider what to do.
Manmohan's remarks came just a day after Natwar had held a meeting with him in the wake of a fresh charge reportedly made by India's Ambassador to Croatia Aniel Matherani that it was Natwar who had secured oil vouchers from SaddamHusseinregimein2001.
The charge, attributed to Mathcmni's interview to IndiaToday newsmagazine, had set off a political storm in India with opposition BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) paralysing parliamentsession last Friday.
"Natwar Singh is consulting lawyers and Is seriously exploring legal options to file a libel case against Matherani," an aide to former external affairs minister Natwar Singh said.
Matherani, a former aide to Natwar and a member of Congress party's foreign affairs cell, later said his "off-the-record" interview with the magazine was "completely distorted" and takenout ofcontext
"He (Matherani) has inflicted tremendous damage to the reputation of Natwar. Although Matherani had denied his remarks since, the damage has been done." the aide addecl
He, however, refused to comment • on whether Natwar was planning to take legal action against the newsmagazine that published the “conversation" with Matherani and triggered the controversy.
The discomfort level in Congress with Natwar is going up with each passing day and a sizeable section within the party wants toseehimout, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi said last Friday. It was up to Natwar to decide whether or not to resign from the ministry, he added.
Congress leadership has consistently been distancing itself from Natwar over the past couple of weeks and no party leader came to Ids defenceinoroutsidetheparliament.
The Indian government has already appointed a former chief justice of the Supreme Court and a former UN under secretary general to examine the documents on the basis of which Volcker reached his adverse conclusions against Natwar ttndCongress.