Chidambaram's arrest is the murder of democracy and rule of law: Congress

Addressing a press conference, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said, "The arrest of P Chidambaram is the murder of democracy and the rule of law."

Accusing the Narendra Modi government of resorting to "personal and political vendetta", Surjewala said, "The government is hellbent upon using the investigating agencies as personal revenge-seeking departments."

"All these are done to divert attention from the falling economy of the country," he added.

Also Surjewala attacked the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) for relying on INX Media co-founder Indrani Mukherjea for arresting Chidambaram. "A seasoned man with 40 years of experience has been arrested on the basis of the statement of a woman, who is being charged with the murder of her daughter." 

Ringing the curtains down to day-long drama that reached a high point when the federal probe agency sleuths scaled the walls of P Chidambaram's house, the CBI on Wednesday night arrested the former Union Finance Minister and senior Congress leader for irregularities in the INX Media case after the Supreme Court refused to hear his bail plea on an urgent basis.

In an unprecedented development, a team of CBI reached the Jor Bagh residence of the senior politician, thumped at the gate and then scaled the wall of his house to enter inside the residence right after he left the Congress headquarters on Wednesday evening following a press conference.

After taking the senior politician into custody, the CBI team drove to the headquarters along with him. Chidambaram spent the entire night at the CBI headquarters.

What is the case?

The central probe agency had registered the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002) case on the basis of a CBI FIR and had alleged irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to INX Media for receiving overseas funds to the tune of Rs. 305 crore in 2007, when P Chidambaram was the Finance Minister.

The CBI had filed the FIR on May 15, 2017 alleging irregularities in FIPB clearance to INX Media.

The money laundering case was filed the same month by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). ED had also allegedly found links of INX Media with a company associated with Chidambaram’s son Karti Chidambaram. The documents allegedly led to unravelling of payments made to Karti’s  company by INX Media when the FIPB approval was granted.

INX Media Pvt Ltd. was owned by Peter and Indrani Mukerjea, now in jail after being accused in the Sheena Bora murder case.