Hours after his father’s arrest, Karti Chidambaran, who arrived in Delhi on Thursday, said the action is “not just an attempt to target P Chidambaram but also the Congress Party”.
Chidambaram and his son were named by Peter and Indrani Mukerjea, who owned INX Media at the time and are currently in jail in connection with the murder of Indrani Mukerjea’s daughter Sheena Bora.
“I have never met Peter and Indrani Mukerjea in my life. The only time I have seen Indrani was when the CBI took me to confront her. I have had no interaction with anyone directly or indirectly connected with their company,” Karti told media.
Karti, who arrived at the Delhi Airport from Chennai early on Thursday, said he will hold a protest at the Jantar Mantar adding that the agitation was about Article 370, that was abrogated by the Government earlier this month.
Karti Chidambaram had earlier said that his father’s arrest was an attempt to divert attention from the issue of Article 370.
Late on Wednesday, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram termed the arrest of his father and former Union Minister by the CBI a “politically motivated witch-hunt”, alleging the entire drama was being done for “voyeurism” and to divert the attention of the country from serious issues.
“This is totally a politically motivated witch-hunt. This is apparently about events that happened in 2008, for which an FIR was filed in 2017. I have been raided four times. No one in the history of India has been raided four times. I’m the only person who has been raided four times. I’ve appeared before agencies over 20 times, and each time I have spent over 10 hours.
“I was also a ‘guest’ of the CBI, so I was quite aware of their procedures and accommodation. I was with them for 11 days, and still for events that happened in 2008 and for which they filed an FIR in 2017, and in August of 2019 they still do not have a charge sheet, which means there is no case,” he said.
“This whole thing is only being done for playing tricks and for voyeurism, and for the pleasure of a few and to divert the attention of the people of India from the serious issues. This is a completely trumped-up, made for television, made for a media kind of spectacle,” he said adding that that the arrest was made “to satisfy someone in the government”.
Speaking in Tamil, he repeated that the charges were all “trumped-up”.
In an unprecedented drama unfolding last night, the senior Congress leader was arrested by the CBI as the agency officials scaled the walls of his Jor Bagh residence in Delhi, minutes after his press conference at the party headquarters where Chidambaram said he was “not hiding from the law but seeking protection of the law”.
After the press conference, as soon as Chidambaram returned to his house, officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate were present at his house, a 10-minute drive away from Akbar Road, only to find the gate locked. CBI officers then jumped over the boundary wall while another team of agency officials entered the house from the back door.
Later, a CBI team arrived in a car to take the senior Congress leader into custody.
Chidamabaram spent the night at the CBI headquarters.
Meanwhile, formal questioning of Chidambaram started from 10 am by the investigation team led by Parthasarathy, Deputy SP.
After questioning, the Congress leader will be produced at Special CBI Court, Rouse Avenue post 12 noon.
While the CBI is investigating alleged irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance granted to INX Media for receiving overseas funds to the tune of Rs 305 crore in 2007 when P Chidambaram was the Finance Minister, the ED is probing the money laundering angle.
It is alleged that his son Karti Chidambaram illegally took service charges for getting the FIPB clearance to the INX Media for receiving funds from abroad.
Both Chidambaram and his son have denied the allegations.