Natwar Singh had close relationship with Indira Gandhi, but falls out with Sonia over corruption 

NEW DELHI: K Natwar Singh, former Congress leader and former external affairs minister K Natwar Singh (93) was a contributor in the fields of politics, literature and diplomacy. He died after battling a prolonged illness at Medanta Hospital in Gurugram near Delhi.

He was born in 1931 at Bharatpur in Rajasthan. He started as a career diplomat joining the Indian Foreign Service in 1953. He has worked in countries including China, Pakistan, America and UK. He also played an important role as the chief coordinator of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 1983.

He entered active politics in 1984. He joined the Indian National Congress and reached the Lok Sabha from Bharatpur constituency. He became the Minister of State until 1989. He served as the External Affairs Minister in Manmohan Singh's cabinet in 2004.

In 2005, he was implicated in the Iraqi oil scandal. He had to resign then from the cabinet and the Congress party. In 2006, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigated Rs 8 crore transaction linked to the 'Oil for Food' scam. The money was found in the Delhi account of London-based NRI businessman Aditya Khanna and was suspected to have been distributed among Indian beneficiaries including former external affairs minister Natwar Singh.

He had a close relationship with former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi had a close relationship but fell out with Sonia Gandhi over corruption. Following his resignation, Singh joined the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) but was expelled within months. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1984