Keeping up the offensive on External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh, the National Democratic Alliance has demanded that the United Progressive Alliance government as well as Congress president Sonia Gandhi [Images] clarify their position on charges of pay-offs from the Iraqi food-for-oil programme in the United Nations-sponsored Paul Volcker Committee report.

• Volcker Report

"Singh should not be made the scapegoat. The Congress is also equally involved in it," NDA convenor George Fernandes [Images] told a press conference in Muzaffarpur Friday evening.

Quipping that UPA leaders were "fleeing like rats instead of clarifying their position", he claimed that disclosures in the report had "now proved that Singh and the Congress party have amasssed hundreds of crores of rupees".

"In the wake of serious allegations against her party, Sonia Gandhi should make her position clear," the NDA leader said insisting that the Manmohan Singh [Images] government also let the people know the facts pertaining to the scam.

"The Left and Congress leaders had sought my resignation in an utterly false case (coffin's scam) and I had submitted my resignation to (then) prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee", he said adding, that he had not accepted any post until the conclusion of the inquiry. 

Fernandes said instead of trying to save its own skin, the government should order an impartial inquiry into the disclosures made by the Volcker panel in the interest of the country.

Fernandes said the Volcker committee report had become public and "therefore the matter cannot be buried by silencing the Panthers party chief Bhim Singh".

"NDA will try to corner the UPA government in Parliament and outside on the Volcker committee report," he said.