Pranab, Chidambaram meet Sonia as UPA waits for PM to return today

Amid the controversy over the finance ministry note on the 2G spectrum allocation which suggested a rift between Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister P Chidambaram, Congress president Sonia Gandhi today held separate meetings with the two senior ministers at her 10 Janpath residence.

She was said to have heard their views, and is likely to take a call on the matter after discussions with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who returns from New York tomorrow evening.

"Everything will be sorted out after the PM returns," said a senior party functionary. The ruling party leadership was, in the meantime, anxiously awaiting the views of the Supreme Court which will hear Subramanian Swamy's petition in this connection tomorrow.

Sonia's decision to meet Chidambaram before Mukherjee, who returned from the US this afternoon, assumes significance after the Prime Minister's ringing endorsement of his colleague. The party, too, was quick to come out in defence of the home minister shortly after the note had become public.

Mukherjee, who has described the home minister as a "valued colleague", refrained from making any comments. On his arrival in New Delhi today, the finance minister said he would comment only after the Prime Minister returns. Mukherjee today described Chidambaram as a "pillar of strength" in the government. The Prime Minister, who is said to have discussed the issue with Mukherjee in New York on Sunday, has underlined that Chidambaram enjoys his "full confidence".

"If it is needed, I will say whatever to say after the Prime Minister comes back and after we have discussions among ourselves," Mukherjee told reporters ahead of his meeting with Sonia.

The government today sought to downplay the controversy, with Law Minister Salman Khurshid saying that the inference drawn from the note was "not correct". He said the note had "no meaning".

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