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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Note sets slow-bomb ticking by Sanjay K Jha

Note sets slow-bomb ticking by Sanjay K Jha

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published Published on Sep 23, 2011   modified Modified on Sep 23, 2011

The 2G note has exposed the deep political rift in the top echelons of the UPA regime, spreading fear among insiders that the row will trigger repercussions within the Congress as well as the government in the coming months.

The Congress leadership has decided to fully back the home minister for now but future responses will depend on the assessment of the Supreme Court. The apex court will decide whether P. Chidambaram, the finance minister when 2G spectrum was allotted in 2008 and the current home minister, should be probed or not.

A government counsel’s note today suggested that the CBI would “study as usual” the new documents — a reference to the finance ministry officer’s letter to the PMO which indicated that the then ministry, which was under Chidambaram, had implicitly agreed to allot 2G licences in 2008 at 2001 prices without auction. ( )

The finance ministry is now headed by Pranab Mukherjee, whose relationship with Chidambaram is being tagged as frigid following a series of unseemly controversies linked to their departments.

The Congress believes that the letter will make no difference to the facts of the case but it is bracing for possible “surgical solutions” once the dust settles down.

In line with the strategy, the Prime Minister and the party today rose to the defence of Chidambaram in public.

Prime Minister Singh fully backed Chidambaram, saying: “I don't know what note you are talking about. The whole 2G matter is before the court. I don’t want to comment on a matter that is sub judice.”

“As far as Mr P. Chidambaram is concerned, as finance minister, he had enjoyed my full confidence and, as home minister, he continues to enjoy and inspire my full confidence,” Singh told reporters accompanying him to New York.

“I don’t conclude that this can be interpreted as a fight between ministers,” the Prime Minister added.

The Congress categorically said it did not doubt Chidambaram’s integrity and it is “wrong, objectionable and nothing but sensationalism” to pass “premature judgments” on an issue being looked into by the court.

Party spokesperson Abhisek Singhvi said: “You cannot pluck out one letter written in March 2011 which is an ex post facto summarisation by a junior officer who included his own subjective interpretation.”

But not many believe that the note would have been sent by an officer to the PMO without the consent of the finance minister.

Government sources, however, pointed out that Mukherjee, as finance minister, had given his opinion in writing on several occasions that the Department of Telecom was wrong in ignoring inter-ministerial consultations and had bypassed Chidambaram’s advice on spectrum pricing.

Chidambaram, too, has publicly and officially stated in the past that the spectrum pricing by DoT was wrong. Against this backdrop, the new letter may not have much legal value.

But it has doubtless detonated a political bomb. While Prime Minister Singh as well as Mukherjee spoke to Chidambaram on phone to assuage his feelings and reposed full faith in him, sources said Sonia Gandhi, too, had discussed the matter with them over phone.

Mukherjee may try to undo the damage once he returns from the US but it will be a difficult task as the latest episode has only cemented an already existing perception about the rift between him and Chidambaram.

Chidambaram issued a statement late in the evening, saying that he had assured the Prime Minister that “I shall not make any public statement on the subject until he returns to India”. Mukherjee did not speak on the contents of the letter but said in Washington that the “sensational news” had come out through the Right to Information act.

The entire party was abuzz with stories of strained relationship between the top ministers and the majority of leaders suspected a deeper conspiracy.

One senior AICC functionary reacted in dismay and said: “Everybody is busy settling personal scores instead of worrying about the damage to the party’s image”. Another hinted that several senior leaders in the party set-up were actively working to get Chidambaram out of the home ministry.

A theory doing the rounds in the party is that while the incumbent Prime Minister would gain if the most potent challengers get discredited, it will also pave the way for other aspiring Prime Ministers in case Rahul Gandhi is not prepared to take the job.

One leader wondered: “It is surprising how the letter got leaked through the RTI act. Did anybody give a tip-off? Was no one interested in suppressing this letter? Why was the letter drafted at all in March 2011? We hear it was for the JPC but the existence of the letter must have been deliberately leaked so that someone can approach the RTI.”

Recent developments suggest Mukherjee and Chidambaram were not on good terms. Apart from alleged attempts to bug the office of the finance minister, reports in the media about a lady officer close to Mukherjee dictating terms in the ministry have caused severe heartburn in some quarters.

Congress leaders also recall a poster controversy in which an appeal was made to Sonia to make Mukherjee the Prime Minister, portraying A.K. Antony as a religious agent and Manmohan as protector of American interests.

Fierce speculation was rife in the party that the poster was intended to help Chidambaram. Both controversies had reached the Prime Minister and were investigated. The poster campaign in Tamil Nadu on Chidambaram’s birthday, portraying him as the future Prime Minister, was also debated with much curiosity in Congress circles.

Questions are now being asked in the party whether the note was Mukherjee’s way of hitting back at Chidambaram. Some sceptics are also wondering if the Prime Minister was consolidating his position by bringing the internal bickering out in the public. While Chidambaram is a lone ranger in the party and had conflicts with powerful leaders like Digvijay Singh and Salman Khurshid, Mukherjee enjoys more support.

But there is a strong feeling that Sonia will have to intervene “surgically” to address the problems. Right now, she has tried to stamp out the fire by asking the party and the government to back Chidambaram.

In peace time, probably after a few months, a “surgical intervention” is not being ruled out.

The Telegraph, 23 September, 2011, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110923/jsp/frontpage/story_14543281.jsp


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