The Lok Sabha was twice adjourned over opposition demands for the resignation of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Minister without Portfolio K Natwar Singh over an allegation by Aneil Mathrani, the Indian ambassador to Croatia, that Singh wasn't clean as he claimed to be.

Mathrani told a TV news channel that Singh had exploited a Congress delegation's trip to Iraq for buying coupons for oil and making money.

Bharatiya Janata Party president and Leader of Opposition LK Advani said neither the prime minister nor the government had divulged this during a discussion in Parliament last week on the UN-appointed Paul Volcker's report on the Iraqi scam.

"Despite the issue being discussed in both the Houses of Parliament, the prime minister did not make a statement. This is outrageous. It is an insult to the House and to the country," he said.

Advani also said Natwar Singh should step down from the government but he should not be a scapegoat. "The Congress party should also take responsibility," he maintained.

The ruling party members protested over this following which the opposition rushed to the speaker's podium and started raising slogans against Gandhi and the government.

Despite Speaker Somnath Chatterjee's repeated pleas they refused to calm down.

The speaker first adjourned the House till 12.30 p.m. and called a meeting in his chamber in a bid to resolve the impasse.

When the House resumed, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would make a statement on the issue at 2 p.m.

Advani then made a rather startling remark: "Keeping in view the seriousness of the situation, I would request the government to make a statement on Monday."

This prompted a Congress MP to retort: "It seems they want to stall the House next week also."

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 2.30 p.m. on the issue.

Immediately after the Rajya Sabha assembled in the morning, Leader of Opposition Jaswant Singh raised the issue and sought a statement from Manmohan Singh.

Chairperson Bhairon Singh Shekhawat said a statement would be made after question hour because the prime minister was not present in the House.

With the opposition insisting on a statement amid din, the House was adjourned till 12 noon. This was then extended till 2.30 p.m.

The Congress and Natwar Singh have been named as "non contractual beneficiaries" in the $64 billion Iraq Oil-for-Food programme in the probe report by former US federal reserve chief Paul Volcker. Natwar Singh was removed as external affairs minister to facilitate a judicial probe by former chief justice RS Pathak.

In a sensational disclosure, Mathrani claimed that Natwar Singh, who was stripped off the External Affairs Ministry portfolio after being named in the Volcker committee report on Iraq's Oil-for-Food scam, had received oil allotment from Saddam Hussein's regime for his "personal services".

Mathrani, who worked closely with Singh in the AICC Foreign Affairs Cell before Congress came to power, told Aaj Tak news channel that both the allotees of oil coupons -- Singh and the Congress -- are "exactly the same."

"The fact of the matter is that both allotees...In my view are exactly the same...One has been to Natwar and the other one to the Congress Party. One for Natwar's personal services. Don't forget that he has been the one who has been expousing Iraq's cause," he said.

The report was based on a long tape-recorded interview of Mathrani who has complete knowledge about the visits of Natwar Singh to Baghdad and had a series of meetings with top Ba'ath party officials of Iraq including Tariq Aziz and the then President of Iraq Saddam Hussien who had been allowed to sell oil for food by the United Nations to keep its economy afloat.

Mathrani said Jagat Singh and Andaleeb Sehgal travelled together and stayed in the same hotel. Andy was made part of the Congress delegation and the manner in which Natwar and Jagat Singh operated it was clear that they were looking for business in oil.