Prime minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi are on the same page on the food security bill and the so-called differences are only the media creation, a senior minister said here on Saturday.

He said Singh has given a word to Sonia Gandhi to bring the bill in the upcoming parliament's budget session from February 21.

Even before the National Advisory Council (NAC) chaired by her met on Friday and expressed concern over a government panel headed by C Rangarajan, chairman of the PM's economic advisory council, rejected a draft bill prepared by the NAC, the minister said the prime minister had told Gandhi not to go by the panel report.

The PM had told the Congress president that the panel was tasked to study viability of measures to be taken once the bill is passed but it does not mean the government has shelved the NAC formulation.

“There may be the issues on who all should be given the subsidised foodgrains and at what price, but it does not mean the government dithering on implementing its proposed flagship programme of ensuring food to all,” the minister said.

Meanwhile, sources in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said Singh has asked finance minister Pranab Mukherjee to work on the food security bill in tandem with the ministries of rural development, food and civil supplies and law to ensure it is brought before the parliament before it goes into recess on March 16.