Chidambaram spends night at CBI headquarter which he had inaugurated
P Chidambaram, former Finance Minister and one of the tallest leaders of Congress, was arrested by CBI on Wednesday in full media glare. Interestingly, the 73-year-old was taken away by the probing agency to the same building whose inauguration he attended in 2011 when he was the Home Minister in UPA-II. Former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh was the guest of honor back then.
In a movie-like sequence, CBI officials scaled walls of Chidambaram's Delhi residence to arrest him. Before that, he had addressed the media saying he was aghast to know he is being pictured as an absconder. CBI rushed to Congress HQ to arrest Chidambaram, facing corruption charges for his alleged involvement in INX Media case, but he had left for his home by then.
Subsequently, Chidambaram was kept at "Lock-up suite 3" of the CBI building, whose opening he had attended on June 30, 2011. In fact, Chidambaram, along with other top leaders like Kapil Sibal and Veerappa Moily, was given a tour of the premises back then.
#WATCH ANI file footage: The then Union Home Minister, P Chidambaram at the inauguration of the new Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) headquarters in Delhi on June 30, 2011. Chidambaram was arrested by CBI yesterday and brought to this complex. pic.twitter.com/ikuxIzaSyF
— ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2019
Reports have it that Chidambaram's questioning will start today, after which CBI will take him to a court seeking 14 days custody. Chidambaram is accused of facilitating FDI into INX Media when he was the FM. His son Karti, who is a Congress MP from Sivaganga, is accused of receiving kickbacks. Earlier, Karti was arrested and is currently out on bail.
Meanwhile, Karti called his father's arrest "totally vindictive and malicious act" done to settle political scores. "This has been done only to create a spectacle on TV and to tarnish the image of Congress party and the former Finance and Home Minister. This is a completely trumped-up case in which he has absolutely no connection. We will fight this out politically and legally," Karti said.
"I've never met Peter Mukerjea, I've never met Indrani Mukerjea in my life. The only time I've seen Indrani was when CBI took me to confront her. I have had no interaction with anyone directly or indirectly connected with their company," Karti added.
