New Delhi, Nov. 7: Natwar Singh has been eased out, but the foreign minister’s resignation will not slow down the political momentum the National Democratic Alliance has “gained”.

The Opposition coalition’s top three ? Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L.K. Advani and George Fernandes ? accelerated the pace by seeking UN secretary-general Kofi Annan’s help to procure documents from the Volcker committee on the evidences against Singh and the Congress.

In a letter today, the leaders urged Annan to help them get a response before Parliament convenes for the winter session on November 23.

The aspects on which they have sought evidence are: documents that enabled the committee to arrive at the names of Singh and the Congress, whether notices were issued to them for explanations, modalities followed in the investigation and details of who authorised the allotment of oil to the Congress.

The NDA trio said they had “no intention of playing domestic politics in the international arena” and were “not concerned about the specific persons and entities involved” in the Iraqi oil-for-food programme. “The issue and the circumstances of the matter impinge on national interests and national honour and are, therefore, of immense concern to our country as a whole,” they wrote.

“Such actions, if true, bring shame to the entire nation and, therefore, the facts unearthed must stand the test of proper scrutiny.”

The letter ? reportedly drafted by Fernandes’s confidante Jaya Jaitly, who was implicated in the Tehelka cash-on-camera sting operation ? said: “It is our belief that in all such complicated and controversial situations, the only goal to pursue is the truth, with unimpeachable evidence and due process.”

An NDA delegation also met President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and urged him to “advise the PM” to drop Singh from the council of ministers and to ensure that “lawful investigations into the commission of offences” were immediately ordered.

In a memorandum to Kalam, the NDA said the disclosures in the Volcker report were “extremely embarrassing” for the government and the country.

Advani termed as a “cover-up exercise” the appointments of the Virendra Dayal committee and the judicial commission headed by former Chief Justice R.S. Pathak to probe the findings of the Volcker report.

“We believe that the government would attempt a cover-up exercise rather than an honest and independent investigation into the matter. The credibility of India’s foreign minister as a spokesman of India’s strategic and diplomatic interest has been considerably hampered?” the memorandum said.