The controversial finance ministry 2G note continues to haunt the UPA government with finance minister Pranab Mukherjee once again coming into the picture in the meeting of Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) examining the 2G spectrum allocation case.
In an obvious attempt to clear Pranab of the controversy building around the 2G note R. Gopalan, secretary, department of economic affairs told the JPC that Pranab Mukhejee had only seen the note which was prepared by various government departments.
The opposition since the note was made public has been baying for the blood of home minister Chidambaram alleging that he could have prevented the sale of scarce radiowaves and therefore is a party to the decisions take by the former telecom minister A Raja.
When pressed further Gopalan however conceded that ‘seen’ means Pranab was aware of the note. But he said that it does not mean that he had approved it. Chidambaram all along has been maintaining that he has nothing to do with the pricing of 2G spectrum and his suggestions were overlooked by the telecom ministry. |