The suspended leader—who had railed against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for not even winning a municipal election—admitted that he had spoken out of anger and hurt. ‘‘I shouldn’t have used those words, but I did not tell a lie,’’ he said, rubbing in his disdain for the PM.

He also said that while Dr Manmohan Singh ‘‘is a friend and colleague’’, at this juncture, ‘‘the nation needs decisive, resolute, forceful leadership.’’ He would also like to meet the PM, not ‘‘on bended knees’’ but to discuss ‘‘big issues’’—US, Iran, Iraq, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka...

As for the Congress party, Natwar Singh pointed out that he had not spoken against the party, he was a ‘‘loyal soldier’’ of the party, he would not resign from the party—but he would not be ‘‘cowed down’’ by the show-cause notice either. In the very next breath, he mocked at the A.K. Antony—‘‘Where has he come from? Hasn’t he violated discipline himself’’— alluding to the fact that Antony had walked out of the Congress in the past.

Where were all his new found friends—Amar Singh, Yashwant Sinha, Digivijay Singh et al—today? someone asked. Natwar snapped backed that on the nuclear deal issue he had ‘‘tremendous support’’ throughout the country and went on to speak at length on how the essence of the agreement was being distorted by the US. ‘‘If the Prime Minister is able to satisfy the House that no departure has been made from the July 18 statement, I will be the first to congratulate him,’’ he added.