Chidambaram keeps his cool amidst opposition calls for his resignation

Union home minister P Chidambaram today issued a brief statement saying he would rather not react to press reports and public comments over his role in the allocation of second-generation radio spectrum for telecom services in 2008.

He said both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee who are away now, have asked him not to react to public criticism at this juncture and that the two have promised to stand by him.

"Friends from the media have asked me why I remain silent. … As reported in the media, the prime minister called me last night from Frankfurt and spoke to me. The finance minister called me from Washington and spoke to me. I have assured the prime minister that I shall not make any public statement on the subject until he returns to India,"  Chidambaram said in a brief statement.

Opposition parties, including the BJP, Left and AIADMK have, meanwhile, called for the immediate resignation of Chidambaram in the light of the revelations of his complicity the 2G scam.

The political storm rose after Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy submitted a finance ministry document to the Supreme Court on Wednesday as `proof' of the then finance minister's (Chidambaram's) role in the 2G spectrum sale.

The BJP said the finance ministry note clearly showed the "complicity" of Chidambaram and was proof enough that the Congress too was involved in the murky dealings.