Monday, December 5 2005 09:14 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Beleaguered Union Minister K Natwar Singh was late yesterday (Dec 4,2005) night removed from the Congress Steering Committee, in what appears to be a clear indication from the party that the senior leader in the high of a storm over the Iraqi oil pay-off scam has become a political hot potato.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Steering Committee presided over by Congress President Sonia Gandhi, close on the heels of Singh's statement flatly rejecting the demand for his resignation in the wake of fresh allegations regarding the Volcker Committee report on the scam.

Earlier, Singh in a brief statement here had said, "There has been a great deal of speculation in the media about why I have not resigned. It is not because of any love of office that I am not resigning. To resign now would look, to many people, as an admission of guilt."

Congress Working Committee, the apex policy-making body of the party, was turned into the Steering Committee after the recent organizational elections in which Gandhi was re-elected as the party chief for the third term.

Singh had caused embarrassment to the party and the Government since the scam broke out as he refused to take hints from the leadership to resign from the minister ship in the wake of the scam.

The action by the steering committee in a way appeared to be a disapproval of the Union Minister's statements suggesting that he has the support of the CWC.

The steering committee passed a resolution unanimously dubbing as 'untenable' continuance of Singh in the committee on 'grounds of propriety'.

"In view of the developments over the last few days, the Steering Committee felt that on grounds of propriety the continuance of Shri Natwar Singh as a member of the Steering Committee at this stage has become untenable and therefore resolved unanimously that Shri Natwar Singh be removed from the Steering Committee," it said.