The Indian PM stripped foreign minister Natwar Singh of rank today after Singh was fingered by a report on the U.N. oil-for-food scandal.
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| Why you gotta be all up in my grill? |
It’s not clear yet whether the move will be merely cosmetic or permanent:
India’s foreign minister was stripped of his post Monday over allegations that he benefited illegally from the U.N. oil-for-food program in Iraq, becoming the first political casualty of an independent report that revealed massive corruption in the effort to help Iraqis suffering under sanctions. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh… demoted him to minister without portfolio…The independent inquiry, headed by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, has accused more than 2,200 companies and prominent politicians worldwide of colluding with Saddam Hussein’s regime to bilk the oil-for-food program of $1.8 billion in kickbacks and illicit surcharges. It named Singh and the ruling Congress party as a ”non-contractual beneficiary…”
NDTV, a local television news channel, reported that Singh will get his portfolio back if Pathak’s investigation clears him. [Link]
The PM has begun an internal investigation:
Virendra Dayal, a former UN under secretary-general and a former member of the National Human Rights Commission, will liaise with the world body and its member states to gather information on the Indian deals mentioned in the Paul Volcker report… His appointment will be for an initial term of three months or until the completion of his task, whichever is earlier. [Link]
There has already been a famous ‘Dayal commission’ which investigated Ahmedabad riots in 1967.
As always, India was first in line against government corruption 
Singh’s demotion was the first government action taken against an acting official since the independent report was released two weeks ago. [Link]
