New Delhi, Jan. 18: Manmohan Singh spoke up for the institutional sanctity of the RBI today - raising the bar on a day his party was picketing the apex bank's facilities and at a time the incumbent Prime Minister has been accused of pushing demonetisation down its throat.

The former Prime Minister's intervention when a parliamentary panel was questioning RBI governor Urjit Patel today was "spun" by some to suit their political compulsions.

Initial reports emerging from the closed-door session suggested that Manmohan had advised restraint and helped Patel escape "possible grilling" amid widespread allegations that the RBI chief allowed himself to be arm-twisted by the Narendra Modi government on demonetisation.

However, as with most matters about the soft-spoken economist who rarely steps up to defend himself, conversations with several other members of the parliamentary standing committee on finance suggested it was not as black and white as was being portrayed.

Trinamul Congress member Saugata Roy dismissed versions that Manmohan had bailed out Patel as "usual spin-doctoring by the BJP".

According to Roy, when Patel was asked for a timeline on when the cap would be removed on bank withdrawals, one MP had quipped that this could lead to a "run" on the banks. A "run" is an extreme situation when a huge number of customers line up to withdraw cash without notice, which can break the banking system.

Upon hearing this, Manmohan, who himself is a former RBI governor, said "we shouldn't say things that could diminish customer confidence in the banks", Roy recalled.

A member from the ruling coalition had a slightly different version, though he could not recall what triggered Manmohan's statement. "He never speaks. Today, when someone asked Patel something, he said 'you need not reply to this because the RBI as an institution should be respected'."

This was interpreted as a bailout of Patel, who was, incidentally, brought into the RBI by Manmohan. But the full account suggests the former Prime Minister, who has held several responsible positions, was trying to prevent the RBI governor from being forced to make commitments or reveal prospective decisions - exactly what the Opposition has been accusing the Modi government of.

One BJP member said Manmohan reprimanded the Congress's Digvijaya Singh for some comment but the source did not specify what was said.

Other sources said even the chairman of the panel, Congress leader M. Veerappa Moily, had begun the meeting by reminding members that "we need to maintain the honour of RBI as an institution".

But the version that suggested Manmohan had gone out of his way to protect Patel got more mileage during the day.#

Never the combative sort, Manmohan had chosen his words carefully even in his intervention in the Rajya Sabha on November 24 on demonetisation. Although Singh had said demonetisation was not just a "monumental management failure" but also "a case of organised loot and legalised plunder of the common people", he did not attack his successor Narendra Modi who had mocked him repeatedly.