Sonia must step down as NAC chairperson: Advani

"There was prima facie case that the Congress party was a non-contractual beneficiary of Saddam Hussein's largesse, while former minister for External Affairs, Natwar Singh was a mere messenger-cum-commission agent," BJP President LK Advani said in his inaugural address at the party convention that began in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Advani said that the Congress president cannot continue to pretend (that) she did not know her party was a beneficiary of Saddam's oil kickbacks. The Volcker Report has only reinforced the Congress party's utter disregard for probity in public life, he said.

"The Congress party, which has fathered the culture of corruption in India, does not appear remotely ashamed. On the contrary, it is brazenly using official investigating agencies to try and shift the focus away from those who were the real beneficiaries," Advani said.