K. Natwar Singh, diplomat-turned-politician with oil for food scam scar, passes away
Image credit X.com @drsjaishankar
Career diplomat K Natwar Singh oversaw India-US nuclear deal
By Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi, August 11: Former External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh, 93, has passed away. After 31 years in the Indian foreign service, Singh had taken a plunge in politics in 1984 to hold several portfolios in the government.
Singh came out with a tell-all memoir — One Life Is Not Enough – after his political career got a fatal blow following his name cropping up in the “oil for food scam”. Singh had to resign as a Union Minister after the expose in the Wolcker Committee Report.
The report accused Singh’s involvement in the scam as his son was shown as a beneficiary in the alleged kick-back by the Saddam Hussain government in Iraq in the oil for food scam. The committee was set up by the United Nations to probe the allegations of the kickbacks paid by the Iraqi government.
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Singh had to quit the Manmohan Singh government in 2005. With ‘One Life Is Not Enough’, Singh had stated that the Congress had also been mentioned in the UN Report.
NDTV in a report in 2005 quoted the Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, saying: “We can understand Mr Natwar Singh’s pique and the underlying antagonism which is the subtext of this proposed book… On October 27, 2005, a report with no connection to India or the Congress party or the government that Shri Natwar Singh’s family, I am quoting now, were non-contractual, corrupt beneficiaries of the oil-for-food programme”.
The UN had started the Oil-for-Food programme in 1996 to help the Iraqis suffering under international sanctions after Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. Under the arrangement, Iraqi oil was sold for food under the watch of the UN.
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The scam finished the political career of Singh, who had tried to revive his stint in politics by joining the Bahujan Samaj Party. Singh had entered the Lok Sabha by winning the Bharatpur parliamentary constituency in Rajasthan.
Lately, his leanings were seen for the Bharatiya Janata Party. His son Jagat Singh is currently a BJP MLA from Nadbai Assembly constituency in Rajasthan.
Union Minister for External Affairs Minister Subhrahmanyam Jaishankar paid rich tributes to Singh. “Deeply saddened by the passing away of K Natwar Singh, distinguished diplomat and former External Affairs Minister. His many contributions include a vital role in the July 2005 India – US nuclear deal. His writings, especially on China, provided valuable insights into our diplomacy,” posted Jaishankar on X, formerly Twitter.
Singh died late Saturday night at Medanta Hospital in Delhi where he was admitted for the last several days.
Natwar Singh went to Mayo College, Ajmer and also the Cambridge University. He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1953. He was also awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1984.
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