Volcker issue is expected to rock Parliament again on Monday, in view of beleaguered Union Minister K Natwar Singh's firm rejection of the Opposition's demand for his resignation, in the wake of fresh allegations in the Iraqi oil payoffs.
Singh's refusal to resign on the plea that it would amount to 'admission of guilt' will add fuel to fire of the opposition National Democratic Alliance, which is gearing up to corner the government in Parliament; it has asked all its MPs to be present.
Deputy leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Lok Sabha, Vijay Kumar Malhotra has already made the opposition's intention clear, saying 'we will be adopting an aggressive posture' in Parliament on the issue.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi told PTI that the government was aware of the NDA's 'agenda of disruption' (of Parliament) from day one - 'to divert attention from their inner party crisis in Madhya Pradesh and their allies' internal problems in Maharashtra'.
Asserting that the United Progressive Alliance was 'not defensive on any false or motivated allegations or unverified charges', he said this was a habitual pattern of the BJP-led NDA on all occasions and 'we know how to answer them and we know how to convey our message to the people'.
Dasmunshi said that the government stood fimly by the decision of the Union Cabinet to allow the Inquiry Authority headed by R S Pathak to function.
Meanwhile, Natwar Singh's latest statement on ruling out his resignation is not being seen favourably both by the government and the Congress, with party leaders and ministers indicating that the Union Minister has not helped the matter.