NEW DELHI: It was former prime minister Manmohan Singh who set up the crucial meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress President Sonia Gandhi . Sources told ET that Singh took the initiative after Modi reached out and sought his intervention in resolving the impasse over the GST Bill.The meeting, however, was firmed up only in the past 48 hours after Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi claimed before a student audience in Bengaluru that there had been a reachout from the government. But the message that the PM was keen to find a way out with the Congress brass was conveyed earlier by Singh.It all started with a growing frustration within the higher echelons of the government that while Congress floor leaders continued to convey that their position on GST was a firm decision of the party leadership, government’s interlocutors were unable to access either Sonia Gandhi or Rahul for a conversation on the subject.At one point, sources said, the government even sought help of Vice-President Hamid Ansari but a breakthrough could not be achieved. About two weeks ago, Modi decided to reach out to his predecessor. He urged him to convey his desire for a dialogue to the top two leaders of the Congress. It was around then that Singh also got involved in streamlining the Congress demands for changes in the Bill into three broad specific concerns.On the request as such, Singh is said to have only reached out to the Congress president, leaving it for her to decide on whether to involve Rahul Gandhi. Finally, as talks began to grow about a government initiative towards the Congress amid some denials, the Friday meeting was firmed raising hopes of an imminent breakthrough.