By- Correspondent | Date- September 25, 2011
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has decided to show his faith on Home Minister P Chidambaram over allegations over him being involved in the 2G scam. He is also expected to meet Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today in New York to discuss the issue.
The Prime Minister also rejected BJP’s demand for Chidambaram’s resignation and claimed that his ministers enjoy his confidence. It is also expected that the Prime Minister and Pranab Mukherjee will meet Sonia Gandhi when they return to New Delhi.
The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been already asking for Chidambaram’s resignation, backing their demand with the finance ministry note to the PMO that he could have stopped the 2G spectrum sale. This note, revealed through a Right to Information (RTI) reply was about the Pranab Mukherjee led finance ministry suggesting that that 2G spectrum licenses would have been auctioned in 2008 if then finance minister Chidambaram had wanted.
All trouble started when a RTI answer showed that Chidambaram had written a letter on 15th January, 2008, four days after spectrum allocation in which he had closed off the auction as “correct way of giving spectrum”. On the other hand, in its 25th March note to the PMO, the finance ministry stated that Chidambaram could have prevented spectrum from being given away at such low prices by insisting on its auction and that losses worth thousands of crores could have thus been avoided.
It is to be mentioned that Congress chief Sonia Gandhi is reported to have directed top leaders of the party to unite and put up a joint defense over Chidambaram.