Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appeared unfazed by the swirling controversy over certain aspects of the 2G spectrum case in the course of which the principal Opposition party, the BJP, has targeted Union home minister P. Chidambaram, and even hinted at the Prime Minister’s personal culpability in the 2G case.
The note, which has now become the basis for the Opposition attack on Mr Chidambaram, was “designed” only to bring out the record in the 2G case, the PM observed while on his way back to New Delhi.
He said the pertinent issues were in the public domain and before the courts, and it would not be right for him to really comment.
The PM noted that he was hearing about “in-fighting” in the government in the wake of the 2G case only from the media, but there appeared no indication of this on the ground.
He recalled in this connection his observation of last week that he continued to have confidence in Mr Chidambaram, the present home minister who was finance minister in the period pertaining to the 2G affair during UPA-I.
Asked why he had permitted a change in the terms of reference, and not allowed an empowered group of ministers (EGoM)) to take a call on the first stage pricing of spectrum, the PM said he accepted the logic of then communications minister Dayanidhi Maran (during UPA-I) that the issue of spectrum pricing was a “bread and butter” matter for department of telecom, and also that a group of ministers may not be a good idea when it came to processing technical data. In addition, he said, the discussion in government in 2006 pertained to defence vacating spectrum (for civilian uses), and not spectrum pricing.
In this connection, Dr Manmohan Singh recalled that the predecessor NDA government, in October 2003, had taken the view that the communications minister and the finance minister could together settle the spectrum pricing question.