2G scam: Pranab meets Sonia Gandhi

In the backdrop of controversy over a Finance Ministry note on the 2G issue, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.

Mukherjee's consultations with Gandhi came a day after his letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh setting out in detail the events surrounding the controversial allocation of spectrum.

Before Mukherjee's meeting, Defence Minister AK Antony held parleys with Gandhi and also her Political Secretary Ahmed Patel, party sources said.

This is the second meeting Mukherjee has had with Gandhi in the last three days. Home Minister P Chidambaram had met Gandhi earlier this week and the Prime Minister yesterday.

Mukherjee's letter has come in the midst of a controversy triggered by the surfacing of a note from a Finance Ministry official suggesting that the 2G scam could have been avoided had Chidambaram, then Finance Minister, insisted on auction instead of giving licences at 2001 prices.

The letter is understood to have detailed the various meetings held on the subject of allocation of 2G spectrum, the correspondence among various ministries and the events leading to the decision.