New Delhi, September 22 (agencies): Home Minister P Chidambaram has talked to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over phone amid questions being raised on his role in the controversial 2G spectrum allocation. The PM is currently in the United States to attend the UN General Assembly meet. Sources said that Chidambaram had called up Manmohan Singh yesterday night and talked for more than 20 minutes over the issue. The Prime Minister is believed to have expressed full faith in the integrity of the former finance minister and that he was ready to say this.
The Prime Minister is understood to have told Chidambaram to have patience and advised him against any “hasty decision”, especially since the case is in court. The PM is further said to have advised the Home Minister to wait till he comes back from United States on September 27 before moving ahead on the issue. As per certain media reports, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has also called up the Prime Minister, apparently, to finalise the damage control exercise. Importantly, the Congress party has stood solidly behind the Home Minister on the issue, saying that it is wrong to doubt Chidambaram’s integrity.
Controversial 2G spectrum allocation
Although, there have been murmurs about Chidambaram role in 2G allocation for some time now, the issue gained steam after a ‘secret note’, sent on March 25, 2011, on the allocation and pricing of 2G spectrum came out in the open yesterday. During their telephonic conversation, Manmohan is also said to have told Chidambaram that the “secret” note was not shown to him. The note broadly suggested that Chidambaram, as then former finance minister, could have insisted for an auction of the valuable resource at the time spectrum was sold on a first come, first served basis when A Raja, now behind bars, was the telecom minister.
The note submitted to the Supreme Court yesterday by Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy during a hearing on his petition was written by PGS Rao, Deputy Director in the Finance Ministry, to Vini Mahajan, Joint Secretary in the PMO. The covering letter to the note also said that Pranab Mukherjee had seen the document.
The Prime Minister is understood to have told Chidambaram to have patience and advised him against any “hasty decision”, especially since the case is in court. The PM is further said to have advised the Home Minister to wait till he comes back from United States on September 27 before moving ahead on the issue. As per certain media reports, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has also called up the Prime Minister, apparently, to finalise the damage control exercise. Importantly, the Congress party has stood solidly behind the Home Minister on the issue, saying that it is wrong to doubt Chidambaram’s integrity.
Controversial 2G spectrum allocation
Although, there have been murmurs about Chidambaram role in 2G allocation for some time now, the issue gained steam after a ‘secret note’, sent on March 25, 2011, on the allocation and pricing of 2G spectrum came out in the open yesterday. During their telephonic conversation, Manmohan is also said to have told Chidambaram that the “secret” note was not shown to him. The note broadly suggested that Chidambaram, as then former finance minister, could have insisted for an auction of the valuable resource at the time spectrum was sold on a first come, first served basis when A Raja, now behind bars, was the telecom minister.
The note submitted to the Supreme Court yesterday by Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy during a hearing on his petition was written by PGS Rao, Deputy Director in the Finance Ministry, to Vini Mahajan, Joint Secretary in the PMO. The covering letter to the note also said that Pranab Mukherjee had seen the document.
