The Matter Is Not Closed, Mr Chidambaram

There was no apparent meeting of minds and hearts when Pranab Mukherjee and Chidambaram stood together outside the Finance Ministry to join hands for a temporary truce. The controversy that began with the PMO making Pranab's note public ended with his statement issued oviously under pressure from Sonia Gandhi. And this underlines the crisis that the 2G scam has brought about for the UPA Govt and the Congress. The political strings lie with Sonia Gandhi, but the government is with Dr Manmohan Singh. One hand does not know what the other is doing. The current 2G crisis is precisely an example of this lack of trust.

Can anyone say with confidence that the crisis in the Congress and the government is over with this apparent show of unity between Pranab Mukherjee and Chidambaram? Has Chidambaram come out unscathed from the 2G quicksand? Is the government's embarassment over? The answer is an emphatic No. Ministers calling a truce will not change facts, nor the contents of the Finance Ministry's note presently lying with the Supreme Court. The JPC is certainly going to dig into the cirumstances behind the drafting of this document, and it is certainly not going to take note of what Chidambaram said soon after Pranab's statement. The PAC is also going to ask for the file accompanying this note and will check the veracity of the Finance Minister's assertion that he had only "seen it". It may also call for the file to check whether the note was "seen" by the Prime Minister. The moot point is: the drama that was enacted outside the Finance Ministry after Sonia Gandhi's intervention is still not over, rather it has aggravated in some aspects.

From: http://ping.fm/1pIck