Pathak report an attempt to bail out Cong: BJP

BJP believes that the Authority has just made Singh a 'scapegoat' while giving a clean chit to Congress.

The BJP on Thursday said the Pathak Inquiry Authority's indictment of former External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh appeared to be an 'attempt to bail out' Congress named in the Volcker Report on oil-for-food scam.

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BJP Parliamentary Party spokesman VK Malhotra told PTI that his party believed that the Authority has just made Singh a 'scapegoat' while giving a clean chit to Congress.

"Right from the beginning, we have been demanding a CBI inquiry into the whole issue because an Authority like Justice Pathak's can have no powers to carry out investigation involving international crimes of this nature," Malhotra said.

He objected to 'deliberate leak' to the media of the Authority's report before its presentation in the Parliament.

"We will raise these objections forcefully. Our leaders will also meet on Friday to work out their response to this report which appears to be an attempt to bail out the ruling party," Malhotra added.