New Delhi:
The Prime Minister is back in the country and is expected to meet Pranab Mukherjee and P Chidambaram, his two senior ministers believed to be at war over a Finance Ministry note to the Prime Minister's Office questioning Mr Chidambaram's actions when 2G licences were being allotted.
The PM's first meeting with the upset Mr Chidambaram since the 2G note controversy erupted last week is taking place now - over lunch. They are not alone, Dr Manmohan Singh is hosting former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair for lunch and the Home Minister is among those invited.
Dr Singh was mid-air when he laid the grounds yesterday for what his strategy to tackle this big crisis in his government would be. There was, in fact, no crisis, he said.
(No dissensions in my Cabinet, says PM en route to India) "There is no dissension in my Cabinet," the PM stated, and laid the blame neatly at the door of the Opposition. "The Opposition feels that it has got hold of some weak points of our government and, therefore, by focusing attention on that, they think they can force an early election. That is not going to happen, this government has a mandate for five years, it will stay its course and we will do things that, when you look back, might as well surprise the country," Dr Singh said.
(Watch)He also said, somewhat mysteriously, that he suspected that "there are other forces which want to destabilise our country."
What he was categorical about was his support to his ministers. "We are a cohesive government, we shall remain a cohesive government. There is nothing of that sort that is being written for the last few days in the media about the differences between Mr Chidambaram and Mr Mukherjee. As far as Mr Chidambaram is concerned, I have said it while on my journey to New York that he continued to enjoy my full confidence when he was Finance Minister, he continues to enjoy my full confidence as Home Minister. And that applies to him and applies to Mr Mukherjee," he said.
There have been reports that Mr Chidambaram has offered to resign - both he and Mr Mukherjee had met Sonia Gandhi individually on Monday evening. Mr Chidambaram is upset because the note from Pranab Mukherjee's Finance Ministry, sent in March this year, questions his actions when the telecom scam was playing out in 2008. It suggests that Mr Chidambaram, who was then Finance Minister, should have done more to ensure that spectrum was not given at throwaway rates to companies that were being favoured by A Raja, who was then Telecom Minister and is now in jail.
The two men in the eye on the 2G note storm have refused to talk publically about this till they have met the Prime Minister. Like Dr Singh, Mr Mukherjee was away from the country when the 2G note controversy erupted last week. The Finance Minister has promised a full-fledged press conference after his meeting with Dr Singh. Till then, it had been left to other Congress leaders like Law Minister Salman Khurshid to keep the flames of this fire under control till the PM was back.
Mr Khurshid told NDTV yesterday, "There is no war in the UPA, we have the best of cordial relations." He also said, "Disagreements are a part of policy-making" and pointed out that "Pranab Mukherjee didn't write the 2G note himself; he has not taken a position."
Mr Mukherjee, he said, would take that position on the note after talking to his officials and colleagues. "As minister I can say, there is a big difference between a letter written by a minister and one seen by him," Mr Khurshid said of the Finance Ministry note and said the government would issue a united statement once the Prime Minister had met everyone.
An aggressive BJP has sharpened its attack on the UPA government and Mr Singh himself. It wants Mr Chidambaram sacked, its leaders say, "He did what A Raja did." Senior BJP leaders Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj ripped into the PM's statements made yesterday - from his defence of Mr Chidambaram to his saying the Opposition was trying to destabilize his government.
The BJP has said that "the Prime Minister has distanced himself from ground realities...he is living in denial." The remarks, made by senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley, are in response to the Prime Minister alleging that the Opposition wants to destabilize the government in the hope of forcing early elections.
"We don't have the numbers to destabilize the government, and we don't need to do so," Mr Jaitley said, adding that the UPA government had a crisis of leadership and would collapse under the weight of its "own contradictions and under the liability of its own image."
The controversial Finance Ministry note, made public through a Right to Information (RTI) application, was presented in the Supreme Court last week by Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy, triggering reports of a rift between the two senior ministers and quickly became a major embarrassment for the Manmohan Singh government. Yesterday, as the Supreme Court heard arguments on Mr Swamy's plea that Mr Chidambaram's alleged role be investigated in the 2G scam, the CBI said a flat no to doing so. The investigating agency and the Centre differed in court, with the CBI taking exception to the Government's remark that the investigation agency would examine the controversial note. The CBI says the note offers no new information. Hearing on Mr Swamy's plea will continue today.
In more ignominy for the government, the Joint Parliamentary Committee studying the 2G scam has expressed anger at the Finance Ministry note not being submitted to it and has asked the government for a written assurance that all relevant documents have been made available to it. The panel also said that the Finance Secretary would be summoned on October 13 to discuss the note. MPs from Opposition parties and who are part of the panel accused the government of deliberately keeping them "in the dark."