New Delhi: Diplomat, writer and politician Natwar Singh’s autobiography ‘One Life Is Not Enough’ has created a political storm. In 2005, then Minister for External Affairs, Singh was abroad on an official visit, when his name was mired in a corruption scandal.
The Independent Inquiry Committee under Paul Volcker, former chairman of the United States Federal Reserve, reported that the Congress Party, Natwar Singh and his son, Jagat were non-contractual beneficiaries of illegal payoffs in former Iraq President Saddam Hussain’s oil-for-food program.
The Congress Party struck before Singh landed in New Delhi. Shortly after his landing, Singh was told that he had been relieved of his portfolio. This, without being given the chance to present his case or even speak to the party president Sonia Gandhi, whom he had known personally for over four decades.
He speaks to Gulf News in an exclusive interview.
GULF NEWS: Does the title of your book ‘One Life Is Not Enough’ convey the ups and downs you’ve seen in a lifetime?
NATWAR SINGH: One could say that or it could also mean that there’s so much to do that one life is not really enough. I faced difficulty in choosing the title. The first I had in mind was ‘Passing By’. The next was ‘A Double Life’, then ‘The Autobiography of a Known Indian’. In all these years, I have had the good fortune to meet a lot of people and because of my literary bent of mind; I also met famous authors from around the world. Only the last few years were very traumatic. All my life’s history is there in the 20 chapters of this book, but everyone is talking only about the one on Sonia Gandhi. I wish to make it clear that it is my autobiography and not a Sonia-centric book!
But it’s precisely because of Sonia and her daughter Priyanka’s visit to your place requesting you not to publish certain episodes that the book has become so talked about?
Yes, one day Priyanka rang up to say she wanted to see me and I had to tell her I could meet her only after a week. She came alone, but in a matter of 10-15 minutes Sonia also walked in. It came as a surprise to me and I said so to her. I was surprised Sonia later reacted to my book. If I were her advisor, I would have advised her against it, as not reacting is one of her strengths. But then I’m grateful to her and Congressmen for increasing the sales of my book!
Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad has termed your revelations as ‘unethical, unacceptable and unbecoming of you’ and that they are a ‘total breach of confidence’. What do you say?
He is entitled to his views. Sonia has said very nasty things about me. But I had not said anything for the last eight years. Great people have no private lives, so this is a price she as a public figure has to pay.
From being a ‘closest friend’ to being called a ‘thief’ by her, did you feel betrayed and the disclosures (in the book) were your way of settling scores?
What proof did she have to refer to me as a thief? I was definitely very hurt by her remark. But how can I settle scores with her. I was upset, yes. But I’m not bitter. That’s not a good sign in a human being. Life is too short for it. We had known each other for years. All she could have done is send for me and given me the opportunity to give my side of the story.
But surely, you could also have made the move. Or were there ego issues?
She expected me to go to her and say sorry, but I did no such thing. And Sonia is not used to being defied like this. I knew I had done nothing wrong, so why would I approach her. All these years, I didn’t seek her appointment. She only came to me after knowing that I was writing my autobiography. I told her that day, ‘You think anyone would have had the courage to touch me, unless they had your approval.’ She said, ‘I didn’t know what was happening.’
What’s your connection with Hamdan Exports, the company that allegedly got 4 billion barrels of oil?
I keep hearing about it, but does anyone have any proof? They keep talking about all the rubbish things. If I had been involved, they would have put me in prison.
So, what happened during the last eight years?
They were too long….no one would listen to me. They let loose the media, the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax department upon me. Strange people were sent to me whom I had never met. They included: a Supreme Court lawyer who offered to take up my case without charging any fee, a man from Haryana state wanted to see my horoscope, some lecturers from Delhi University wanted to know my future plan of action and a so-called saint wanted me to pay him Rs.10 million to rid me of my problems! Stories were planted against me in newspapers and teams of the Research and Analysis Wing and Intelligence Bureau were dispatched to Geneva, New York, London and Cyprus to check whether I had any properties in these places. But after all the findings and hounding, they couldn’t gather any evidence against me. And all this while, my son and I just managed to keep our heads up.
Were you surprised that none of the Congress Party leaders stood by you then?
Many of them have called me from all over India now applauding my book saying, ‘we didn’t have the courage to say what you have said. We support you fully, but cannot do anything.’ That’s because they are all afraid of Sonia and it is in the Congress Party culture to toe the line. They have no guts and are all sycophants.
Now that Sonia has said she would be writing a book, do you intend to write a sequel?
No. I will write only after her book comes out. I want to see what she writes.
BOX
• Natwar Singh was born on May 16, 1931 in Bharatpur, Rajasthan.
• He graduated in History (Honours) from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi.
• Went to Cambridge, UK, for further studies followed by Peking University, China.
• Joined Indian Foreign Service in 1953.
• Inducted into former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s Secretariat – 1966-71.
• Worked as Indian Ambassador to Poland, Deputy High Commissioner to UK, High Commissioner to Zambia and Ambassador to Pakistan from 1971 to 1984.
• Federal Minister of State, Ministry of Steel, Coal and Mines – 1985-86.
• Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs – 1986-89.
• Elected to the Rajya Sabha – 2002.
• Minister for External Affairs – 2004.
