NEW DELHI: The Justice R.S. Pathak Inquiry Authority report came under sharp criticism in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, with the Communist Party of India and the Opposition accusing the author of "protecting the Congress party" in the Iraqi oil-for-food contracts.

The House was adjourned briefly after Congress MPs protested against the remarks made by BJP MP Maneka Gandhi against party president Sonia Gandhi.

Initiating the discussion, CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta said it was a grey report and Justice Pathak had not done justice. "He has taken the right course but not reached the right conclusion." Criticising the Congress for not monitoring the work of its delegation, Mr. Dasgupta said two senior Congress leaders, who were part of the delegation, should have informed their party president about the presence of the two businessmen in the delegation if they did not want to antagonise Mr. Singh at that point of time. He blamed the Government for not conferring enough powers to the Authority to investigate the matter fully.

Ms. Maneka Gandhi sought to trace the connection of all members of the delegation to the Congress. She said the delegation had been authorised and approved by the party president. There was no itinerary for the delegation. It should have met the President, Vice-President, Prime Minister or the External Affairs Minister during the goodwill mission instead of the Oil Minister.

Sharp words from Ms. Gandhi evoked equally sharp reactions from the treasury benches, resulting in a brief adjournment. Speaker Somnath Chatterjee repeatedly reminded Ms. Gandhi to confine herself to the findings of the report and not her information.

"A sad day for us"

While delinking his party from Mr. Singh's actions, Union Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said "this is a sad day for us." Describing Mr. Singh as the "lynchpin," he said: "No member of the Congress delegation other than Natwar Singh was involved."

Highlighting the speed with which the Government ordered an inquiry into the disclosures of the Volcker report, Mr. Sibal said never before had any inquiry commission submitted its report without extension. Also, he underlined the difference between the manner in which the BJP and the Congress handled corruption charges. "They refused to have an inquiry," he said, referring to the former BJP president, Bangaru Laxman's alleged involvement in the tehelka scandal. But the Congress-led Government rose above party considerations to order an inquiry without much ado.

Mohammad Salim (CPI-M) said the Government should have asked the Authority to look into the involvement of other Indian entities named in the report.

In particular, he mentioned the name of Reliance Petroleum Limited, while questioning the BJP's silence on this count. Also, he pointed out that no other country named in the Volcker Report had taken it seriously.

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