New Delhi: Law Minister Salman Khurshid and Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office (PMO) V Narayanswamy met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee late on Monday night at his residence to discuss options before the government in the wake of the controversy over the finance ministry's note on the 2G spectrum allocation.
Congress sources said the meeting, which continued for almost an hour, discussed options before the government to sort out the controversy.
They also said the government wanted to find an early solution to the controversy which has given an opportunity to the opposition to target the government over alleged differences on the 2G issue.
Coming out of the meeting, Khurshid refused to spell out what had been discussed. He said Mukherjee had already made it clear that he may speak on the issue after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh returns from his visit to the US. The Prime Minister is expected to return to the country on Tuesday.
"I can't tell what transpired in the discussion," Khurshid said adding that Mukherjee was senior minister and he met him to seek his advice. Earlier in the day, Mukherjee and Home Minister P Chidambaram met Congress president Sonia Gandhi separately.
Asked if the meeting was in relation to Wednesday's court hearing on the 2G issue, Khurshid said, "Court hearings go on in the Supreme Court all the time. What is the problem."
After revelation of the note sent by the finance ministry to the Prime Minister's Office, the Opposition has stepped up its offensive against the government and sought resignation of Chidambaram. It has also alleged there was a "civil war" like situation in the government.
The March 25 note to the PMO from the finance ministry says that the airwaves could have been auctioned in 2008 if Chidambaram, who was then the finance minister, had "stuck to his stand".
In the note, the finance ministry says Chidambaram could have prevented spectrum from being given away at throwaway prices by insisting on its auction - implying that presumptive losses worth thousands of crores of rupees could have thus been avoided.
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