2G note was a background paper, Pranab tells PM and Sonia

The finance ministry note on the allocation of 2G spectrum, which has made headlines for a week and provided fresh ammunition for the opposition's guns, was prepared with inputs from the prime minister's office (PMO) and should be seen in the light of a "background note", finance minister Pranab Mukherjee is reported to have told Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

In a letter presented to the prime minister when both were in New York and forwarded to Gandhi on Tuesday, Mukherjee said there were 10 different versions on the entire controversy, and it was decided that there should be a consolidated background note harmonising all the viewpoints of the various ministers, according to media reports.

The controversial note, which apparently accuses the then finance minister P Chidambaram of inaction when jailed former finance minister was selling spectrum at allegedly rock-bottom prices in 2008, was prepared with inputs from the PMO and the cabinet secretariat, the letter noted.

The meeting was held at the cabinet secretary's office, during which the secretaries of the department of telecommunications (DoT), law, and finance ministries, and principal secretary to the PMO were present.

It was after the meeting that the finance ministry sent a 12-para note to the cabinet secretary, who then sent back the note with 14 more paragraphs. He also asked for the document to be vetted and shown to finance minister Mukherjee.

The Congress has refused to comment on the latest media exposure.