New Delhi: The Congress lashed out Thursday at the government over the arrest of former Finance Minister P Chidambaram. It accused the government of using the CBI and Enforcement Directorate as a personal ‘revenge-seeking departments’ and termed it as a broad daylight ‘murder’ of democracy.
The senior Congress leader was arrested on Wednesday night by the CBI in the INX Media money laundering case and he spent the night in the agency’s custody.
“Over the last two days India witnessed the broad daylight murder of democracy and the rule of law by a Government hell bent upon using CBI and ED as personal revenge-seeking departments for the party in power,” party chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said at a press conference.
“The vindictive, selective and malicious manner in which former Finance and Home Minister P Chidambaram has been persecuted and prosecuted is nothing short of a brazen personal and political vendetta,” added the Congress spokesperson.
Randeep Surjewala said with the narrative on a sinking economy spiralling out of their control and amid unprecedented job losses, devaluation of the Rupee and crisis in all sectors leading to shutting down of factories and trade, ‘we now see the depths to which a desperate Modi Government 2.0 will stoop to divert the nation’s attention’.
The Congress leader said after over five years of futile investigation, for an alleged offence that took place in 2008, the authorities are unable to come out with any clear or precise allegation or a compelling case against P Chidambaram.
“This leads to only one unmistakable conclusion – false charges are being heaped upon senior political rivals to silence anyone and everyone in the country,” alleged Surjewala.
Holding that democracy was being murdered through propaganda, Surjewala said the spectacle was being run by the BJP through some news channels against the former Finance Minister.
“We, as a nation, must rise up and refuse to be silent spectators to the death of democracy. We stand with P Chidambaram and reiterate our unwavering belief in his innocence,” asserted Surjewala.
Training his guns at CBI officials, he hoped the officers who scaled walls of Chidambaram’s residence in their eagerness to please their political masters, as also select TV channels, have the courage to tell the Prime Minister and Home Minister, that there is ‘zero evidence’ of any case against him.
Surjewala said while many accused in the INX Media case are still free, a senior politician has been arrested without any legal basis, even as there is no charge against him to either influence a witness or interfere with the gathering of evidence.
“Except for a vicious and venal vendetta there was no other foundation to arrest him. Except for the blatant intent of the BJP-led government to humiliate and tarnish the reputation of P Chidambaram there was no occasion or reason to arrest him,” Surjewala pointed out.
The case seems to rely solely upon the testimony of one approver – currently in prison – on trial for the shocking and alleged murder of her own daughter for which she continues to face trial, Surjewala told the media.
“A seasoned politician was arrested on the statement of a woman charged with murder of her own daughter,” Surjewala said referring to Indrani Mukherjea.
Surjewala challenged authorities to place in public domain the nature of charges against Chidambaram instead of engaging in public spectacle through news channels to character assassinate him.
PTI