The Congress leadership was not aware of the presence of Jagat Singh and his cousin Andaleeb Sehgal in Baghdad when a four-member party delegation led by K Natwar Singh visited Iraq in January 2001, Aniel Mathrani, who was a part of the group, claimed on Thursday. He said the news was received with 'indignation' when it came to light.

"There was a sense of disbelief in the party when the Volcker controversy broke out in October-November," said Mathrani, whose reported claim that Natwar Singh did receive oil vouchers from the Saddam Hussein regime led to  a political storm and Natwar's resignation.

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"Clearly, it was not known to the party leadership before and was treated with a great sense of surprise and indignation," Mathrani, a former secretary of the Congress Affairs Cell and a close aide of Natwar Singh, told PTI at his residence in New Delhi.

Mathrani, till recently India's ambassador to Croatia, said he was called by the Congress leadership after the Volcker findings were made public in October-November and asked for a clarification as he was the only member of the delegation to be present in Delhi.

"There was a sense of disbelief in the party," he said, adding that he informed the Congress leadership about the itinerary and the meetings that took place during the delegation's visit to Iraq.

Complete coverage: The Volcker report