Natwar singh relieved of foreign ministry

The Prime Minister on the request of Mr Natwar Singh, the External Affairs Minister has relieved him of the foreign ministry and made him a minister without portfolio in the government.

Meanwhile the Union government has appointed former Chief Justice Mr R S Pathak to head the judicial commission to go into some aspects of the Paul Volcker Committee Report on Iraqi oil pay-offs.

Appointment of the Judicial Commission is the follow up of the fact finding probe announced earlier to be conducted by a former diplomat Mr Virender Dayal to gather material on the allegation made in the Volcker report naming Mr Natwar Singh and the Congress party as beneficiaries of the deals.

The terms of reference of the Judicial inquiry would be announced later, official sources were quoted as saying