Stung by his suspension from the Congress party, former external affairs minister Natwar Singh launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Ministerial council late Tuesday night and declared that he was ready for a 'decisive battle.'
Reacting sharply to Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee's remark that Natwar had brought disrepute to the Congress, the former external affairs minister said there are three persons in Manmohan Singh's council of ministers who are accused in cases of murder and rape.
"Are they not bringing disrepute to the government? My record is impeccable," he said.
"I want to write to the Guiness Books of World Records that Manmohan Singh is the only prime minister of India among the eleven prime ministers that the country has had who has not won even a municipal election. What is he going to tell me," Natwar asked.
"Manmohan Singh is a nominated prime minister. He is not a representative of the people of India," he said.
Responding to Mukherjee's allegation that he had been carrying out propaganda against the Congress in recent weeks, Natwar said: "Let them give a proof of this."
"Is it fair that the (Pathak Authority) report is leaked from the office of Manmohan Singh," he queried.
Natwar claimed that Pranab Mukherjee wanted to become
Coverage: The Volcker Report