Special: Chidambaram ticked off PM with raising voice over 2G issue in media

With his repeated assertions in the media that he was in favour of taking the auction route for the allocation of the 2G spectrum in his avatar as finance minister, P Chidambaram, it seems, irked prime minister Manmohan Singh.

“He was intent upon creating an impression that he had left the decision to the prime minister, and thus no blame could be laid at his doorsteps,” a top source in the government told DNA.

Though the genesis of the controversial 2G note from the finance ministry is attributed to an RTI query, it is pointed out that there was no such need to do answer it. “The RTI query could have been ducked by using the provision that no details need be submitted in response to an RTI when an investigation is underway,” the source observed.

Under these circumstances, the detailed note of the finance ministry as approved by Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee is seen as an attempt to set the record straight vis-a-vis Chidambaram’s assertions that he was for the auction route.

The other purpose served by this note is that it absolves the prime minister of any responsibility in the process of spectrum price fixing.

It is also pointed out that as finance minister, Chidambaram was merely paying lip service to the auction route, and if he really had any serious differences with the then telecom minister, A Raja, he would have taken the issue to the Cabinet — the highest policy making forum —  and not have rest content with merely writing to the prime minister about it.