Government Thursday told Parliament that it was determined to establish the facts with regard to the Volcker Committee report, which has named the Congress party, Union Minister Natwar Singh, Reliance Petroleum Limited and Panthers Party chief Bhim Singh as "non-contractual beneficiaries" in Iraq's oil-for-food programme.
"The government is determined to established the facts in this matter and has set up an inquiry headed by Justice R S Pathak, former chief justice of India and former judge of International Court of Justice," Minister of State for External Affairs Rao Inderjit Singh said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.
He said the government has also appointed Virendra Dayal, former under secretary general of the United Nations, as its special envoy to liaise with the UN and its member states to gather relevant material in connection with the report of the independent inquiry committee into the oil-for-food programme.
"The special envoy has the full power and authority of the government of India to execute the responsibilities entrusted to him," Singh said.
