Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (August 11) expressed grief over the demise of veteran Congress leader K Natwar Singh. Taking to Twitter, the prime minister expressed his condolences and recalled the late leader’s significant contributions to the fields of diplomacy and foreign policy.
He said, “I mourn the passing away of Shri Natwar Singh Ji. He made significant contributions to the world of diplomacy and foreign policy. He was also known for his intellect and prolific writing. My thoughts are with his family and admirers at this time of grief. Om Shanti.”
Singh died on Saturday, August 10, after a prolonged illness, according to his family sources. He had been admitted to Medanta Hospital in Gurugram for the past two weeks, but passed away on Saturday at around 11.30 pm.
“His son is in hospital and many other family members are arriving in Delhi from his home state to receive the last rites scheduled in Delhi. He had been unwell for some time,” a family source said. He died on Saturday evening, according to the source.
Political career
In 1984, Singh switched from diplomacy to politics and joined the Congress Party. His political career was marked by important appointments, including his appointment as External Affairs Minister in 2004–05 under Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. Prior to this, he served as Union Minister of State for Steel, Mines and Coal, and later as Minister of State for Agriculture between 1985 and 1986 in the Rajiv Gandhi government. He also served as Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs between 1986 and 1989. This was during his first stint in politics, when he was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) from Bharatpur, Rajasthan, after leaving the Indian Foreign Service.
Meanwhile, it is pertinent to note that Singh also stayed away from politics after the appointment of then Prime Minister PV Narsimha Rao in 1991 as the two reportedly have differences. He then became one of the founders of the All India Indira Congress.
However, in 2002, Singh made a significant comeback with his appointment as a member of the Rajya Sabha. There too he continued to have significant influence, and was eventually appointed as Minister for External Affairs in Dr Manmohan Singh’s Cabinet in 2004. But his tenure was cut short in 2006 when he resigned amid the Oil-for-Food scandal, which implicated people close to him, including his son, in financial irregularities. Although Singh consistently retained his post, the controversy marred his political career and led to his resignation from the Cabinet.
The scandal, uncovered by the UN’s Volcker Committee, alleged that Singh and the Congress Party had benefited from illicit payments related to the oil-for-food programme. Singh resigned from the Congress Party in 2008.
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