Pranab writes to PM on 2G developments

New Delhi, Sept 28 (PTI) As the 2G fire rages, Indian
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has written a letter to
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh setting out in detail the events
surrounding the controversial allocation of spectrum.
The letter comes in the midst of a controversy triggered
by the surfacing of a note from a Finance Ministry official
suggesting that 2G scam could have been avoided by the then
Finance Minister P Chidambaram if had insisted of auction
instead of giving licences on 2001 prices.
As Mukherjee, who had met the Prime Minister in New York
on Sunday, wrote the letter, Chidambaram met Singh on his
return from the US Wednesday.
Mukherjee, who returned to the capital from Kolkata late
in the night, told reporters that "the correspondence between
the Prime Minister and Ministers, I consider, are
confidential".
The letter is understood to have detailed the various
meetings held on the subject of allocation of 2G spectrum, the
correspondence between various ministries and the events
leading to the decision.
However, sources said Chidambaram was present at a lunch
hosted by Singh for former British Prime Minister Tony Blair
in which a number of others were present. There was no private
meeting between the two, they said.
Mukherjee was unlikely to meet the Prime Minister, who
will go to eastern Indian state Sikkim Thursday for a survey
of the earthquake-affected areas. The meeting may take place
on Friday before Mukherjee leaves for eastern Indian city
Kolkata.
He will be away from Delhi from October 1 to 6 during
which period he would be in his home town for the Durga puja
festivities.
The sources said that there was no interpretation of
events in the letter written by Mukherjee.
However, it was not clear whether there was any reference
in the letter to the controversial para regarding Chidambaram
in the March 25, 2011 note written by a Finance Ministry
official.
The sources said that the March note was prepared as the
government felt that all the details regarding 2G spectrum
including the letters written by various ministries and file
notings be collated in one document.
That was necessary because various departments of the
government may not be aware of the position of the other
ministries so that the government could take single united
stand.
The note was suggested at a time when some sections in
the government were speaking in different voices.