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Publication: Newkerala.com
Date: December 5, 2005
URL: http://www.newkerala.com/news.php?action=fullnews&id=61616
Bharatiya Janata Party President L K Advani today accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of changing his statement on the allegations in the Volcker Committee Report regarding the Oil-for-Food scam.
''Perhaps the Prime Minister is out to make a world record on changing his statement on the issue,'' Mr Advani told mediapersons.
The BJP President said Mr Manmohan Singh had given a clean chit to former External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh on the very first day the Volcker Report had come out, naming Mr Natwar Singh and Congress party as non-contractual beneficiaries.
The Prime Minister initially took the pretext that the allegations were unverified, but later decided to set up two committees to inquire into them and stripped the minister of the portfolio.
Even Congress insider and former India's Ambassador to Croatia Aniel Mathrani, who in an interview made revelations endorsing the allegations made in the UN report, had been whisked away from the airport by Enforcement Directorate officials.
Expressing his serious concern over the Oil-for-Food scam which was getting murkier day by day, Mr Advani said the manner in which the Government was dealing with the matter and conducting itself on the issue was reminiscent of the Emergency days.
The other day, he said, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Jaswant Singh was not allowed to speak after the Prime Minister had made his statement in the House. ''This is perhaps the first time that the Leader of the Opposition was not allowed to speak,'' he added.