On instructions from Congress president Sonia Gandhi, senior Union ministers were asked to brief Congress MPs on the allocation of coal blocks and the CAG report.
The AICC wanted to hold the meeting inside Parliament House Annexe but decided to open up Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan instead.
The briefing was held by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal at the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation in what was the second in the series of interactions organised on behalf of the Congress by the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Contemporary Studies. Congress MP Girija Vyas coordinated the meeting.
The MPs were told that they were being armed with all the facts as they should be ready to counter the BJP's propaganda, but also strictly warned that the matters discussed in the meeting should not be leaked to the media.
They were asked to use the information and material provided to them in explaining what Chidambaram described as "real facts" whenever they get the opportunity in discussions and interaction with the media.
