Former Uttar Pradesh Governor Romesh Bhandari has sent a two-page reply to R N Karanjawala, advocate for former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's foster son Rajan Bhattacharya, in which he said that he would send the information available with him on the Iraqi Food for Oil programme scam to the probe committee headed by Justice R S Pathak.

Bhandari links Vajpayee's kin to Iraq scam

Bhandari had, on December 8, said: "We have been hearing stories about the various National Democratic Alliance leaders and a close relative of Vajpayee making visits to Iraq and dealing with the former Iraqi government in the oil-for-food programme."

He also wanted the scope of the Pathak Committee to be expanded so as to include all the companies who had dealt with the former Iraqi regime.

Bhandari told rediff.com on Monday that he had told the advocate that it was for his client to prove his innocence.

"I was asked to name the person close to Vajpayee but I refused to do so," Bhandari said.

Bhattacharya's advocate had in his letter dated December 12, 2005, asked Bhandari to name the person close to former prime minister.

"Since the Pathak committee has been set up to inquire into this, I would present the information known to me before the committee," he said.

Bhandari claimed that he had revealed what had been told to him by a senior Iraqi leader in confidence since he felt it would be in public interest to do so.

"When the information was given to me, I did ask my informer about the person close to the former prime minister but he did not name him. If the advocate thinks that the cap fits his client, it is upto him to prove his innocence to the world," he added.

Complete Coverage: The Volcker Report