Leaders of Opposition parties in Tamil Nadu on Thursday condemned the arrest of former Union Minister P. Chidambaram in the INX Media case, claiming that the action was politically motivated.
“It is a shame for India that the CBI officers scaled the compound wall to enter into the house of Mr. Chidambaram. Their act is condemnable,” said DMK president M.K. Stalin.
He claimed Mr. Chidambaram was always ready for questioning by the CBI, and hence his arrest was an act of political vendetta. The CBI should not have arrested him when his anticipatory bail plea was slated to come up before the Supreme Court on Friday.
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Asked about Tamil Nadu Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar’s comment that Mr. Chidambaram had shamed the Congress and Tamil Nadu, Mr. Stalin remarked he was not ready to respond to the comments of a “joker”.
CPI (M) State secretary K. Balakrishnan said the way Mr. Chidambaram was arrested went to show that the CBI was very particular about his arrest. Though there was nothing wrong in filing a case against someone for suspected wrongdoing, the interest shown by the CBI in the case made it clear it was a politically motivated.
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Dravidar Kazhagam president K. Veeramani said the arrest was used not just to intimidate Mr. Chidambaram, but anyone who would criticise the policies of the BJP government. “Though CBI officers have the right to do their job, the way they entered into the house and their attempt to portray Mr. Chidambaram as anti-social and a terrorist will not be accepted by anyone who has faith in democracy,” he said.
‘Weakening Congress’
VCK leader Thol. Thirumavalavan claimed: “In a bid to avenge Amit Shah’s arrest [in a ‘fake’ encounter case] when Chidambaram was the Home Minister 10 years ago, the government has set off the CBI after him.”