NEW DELHI: The Manmohan Singh government did not take heed of any of the unsavoury reports coming out from Croatia regarding the extra-curricular activities of India’s ambassador Aniel Matherani, who was able to hang on to his post although his successor Rajiv Mishra had been named as far back as April.

It is reliably learnt that the government had full information about Mr Matherani’s activities which had agitated the host government, but had failed to take effective action against him because of his perceived closeness to Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Mr Matherani, who was once considered close to Natwar Singh, had used his contacts in the Congress Party to reach 10 Janpath. Sources said he was a regular visitor, and even though he was the number two (after Natwar Singh) at the AICC foreign affairs cell earlier, he did not visit the party headquarters but could be seen instead at Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s residence.

He was present with her, along with Natwar Singh, when foreign dignitaries came calling on the then leader of the opposition, and he was among the small group of Congress members who could claim direct access.

He was a regular at the ministry of external affairs when the Congress came to power, and although he did not have any post there it was clear that he was hankering for a seat in the power structure.

He used his proximity to Mrs Sonia Gandhi and Natwar Singh, sources said, to throw his weight around and had senior officials working round the clock to prepare briefs that he insisted were meant for the party president. The sources said that while his relations with Natwar Singh appeared to have suffered during this time, he remained close to Mrs Sonia Gandhi as one of her advisers on foreign policy.

Even now, when Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran stated in the wake of the Volcker controversy that Mr Matherani had been asked to return, he did not spell out that the formal orders for the ambassador’s return from Croatia had been issued as far back as April but that he (Matherani) had still managed to stay on in that country and had managed to prevent his successor from taking charge.

It was well known both in government and Congress Party circles that the envoy had run into trouble at Zagreb arising from misuse of power and position, and that the ministry had wanted to replace him immediately. That he managed to delay this matter until the Volcker Committee report in November that led to Mr Saran’s announcement, is a clear indication of the clout that he enjoys within the Congress Party.

His rise in the party can be directly traced to Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s takeover as party president. Mr Matherani, who started his career at a five-star hotel, is remembered as a ‘struggling’ Youth Congress member when Rajiv Gandhi was leading the party.

He emerged on the Congress scene as a major player when Sonia became party president, and Mr Matherani her adviser on foreign affairs. He was among the very few handpicked by Mrs Gandhi to accompany her to meet the then US secretary of state Colin Powell. He was often seen at her side, giving her notes on visiting dignitaries, and was recognized by the party as an ‘insider’.

Mr Matherani, who had rushed back to Zagreb after the Volcker report broke, first gave a lengthy interview to India Today which was particularly damaging for Natwar Singh, he then denied it, and then went on to confirm it to the enforcement directorate during interrogation immediately after his return from Zagreb on December 3.

It is not yet clear, however, if he had already been given his marching orders in April, how he had been allowed to continue in his ambassadorial post and how he had been given permission to travel to and from Croatia at will despite the host government’s strong reservations about him.

In diplomacy, ambassadors are usually recalled at a moment’s notice if the host government raises objections, or if he is found to have violated all norms and rules associated with his position that includes involvement with women citizens of the host country. —By arrangement with The Asian Age