'No One Who Is Guilty Will Go Unpunished'

Mr.Chairman, Sir, this morning, some hon. Members of the House wanted me to make astatement on a certain interview granted to a TV channel by the IndianAmbassador to Croatia. I have been informed that he has made certain statementsregarding the alleged involvement of certain individuals in the matter which iscurrently under inquiry by the Justice Pathak Inquiry Authority as part of itsmandate to inquire into certain transactions mentioned in the Volcker Committeereport.

The same matter is also being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate. Eversince the first mention was made of the involvement of certain Indian entitiesand individuals in the Volcker Committee report as non-contractual beneficiariesin the Iraq Oil-for-Food programme, the Government has been firm, consistent andclear in its stand on the matter. We had said that the references, as they arefound in the Volcker Committee's report, are 'unverified references.' We hadsaid that we are determined to go to the root of the matter and establish thetruth or otherwise of these references. We stand by that position even now.

In order to unearth the facts, we promptly appointed Mr. Justice R.S. Pathak toinquire into the two specific contracts which are of relevance and gave him fullpowers, in the manner he himself desired, to complete his inquiry speedily andeffectively. We appointed Shri Virendra Dayal as a Special Envoy to gatherrelevant materials, and as the Finance Minister informed this august House, hehas been doing his work most expeditiously and, in a space of 10 days, obtainedimportant documents and materials.

As for the statements made today -- and I am told are likely to be published ina magazine later -- they certainly relate to the transactions underinvestigation. Statements have been made about Shri Natwar Singh and otherindividuals. These are all a matter of concern.

The Enforcement Directorate has assured the Government that their investigationsare proceeding on the right track and they would be able to establish the factsexpeditiously. We should not pre-judge the final outcome of the investigation orpre-empt the findings that may be given by the Justice R.S. Pathak InquiryAuthority. For us in the Government, truth is of utmost importance. We aredetermined that truth must prevail in this matter. Our Government believes inmaintaining high standards of probity and transparency in public life and I canassure the House that no one who is guilty will go unpunished.