FinMin note on 2G: Pranab says matter is closed

Pranab Mukherjee and P Chidambaram today sought to put an end to the raging controversy over the Finance Ministry note on 2G spectrum with the Finance Minister distancing himself from the statement that sought to blame the Home Minister.

"Apart from the factual background the paper contains, certains inference and interpretations which do not reflect my views," Mukherjee told reporters in the presence of Chidambaram after a day of hectic activities in the Congress camp to douse the fire.

The joint appearance of the two ministers along with Kapil Sibal and Salman Khurshid came after Mukherjee and Chidambaram had a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh where the matter was thrashed out.

Immediately, Chidambaram expressed happiness over Mukherjee's statement and said, "I accept the statement and as far as all of us in the government is concerned, the matter is closed."

Chidambaram had been sulking for last one week ever since the surfacing of a Finance Ministry note of March 25, 2011 that had said that the 2G scam could have been avoided had the then Finance Minister had insisted on auctioning of spectrum instead of giving it on 2001 prices.

Mukherjee read out a brief statement that said a number of stories on 2G spectrum had appeared in the media in January 2011.

He said a view was taken that a harmonised note based on facts should be produced for use by various representatives of the government. A group of officers prepared an inter- ministerial background paper which was sent to PMO on March 25, 2011.

The resolution of the week-long problem comes after the intervention of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who held hectic consultations first with senior leaders Ahmed Patel and AK Antony and then with Mukherjee.