New Delhi: Congress leader P. Chidambaram Wednesday dismissed the CBI and ED charges against him in the INX Media as false, and said he will put his faith in the judiciary as well as respect the law.
Addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters, Chidambaram said he wished dispel the “concern and confusion” from the developments of the past 24 hours. Categorically stating that he wasn’t guilty of the accusations, he said, “I have not been accused of any offence in the INX Media case, nor has any member of my family. Lies are being spread by pathological liars.”
He added that “no chargesheet has been filed by the CBI or ED before a competent court”, and their findings, to him, do not “impute a wrongdoing” on his part.
Flanked by fellow party leaders, including Kapil Sibal who represented him in court, Chidambaram said he will respect the law even though it was being applied by an “unequal hand”. He added that he hoped the investigative agencies will also respect the law.
“I am aghast at being accused of hiding from the law when on the contrary I was seeking protection from the law. I am in pursuit of justice,” he said as he concluded the press meet.
Chidambaram’s statement comes after the Delhi High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea Tuesday. The former Union minister’s legal team spent most of Wednesday appealing the Supreme Court to review the plea and grant interim protection.
It also comes nearly 24 hours after the CBI pasted a summons notice outside Chidambaram’s residence, directing him to appear before the agency within two hours of the receipt of the notice for investigation in the case.
The ED also issued a look-out circular Wednesday morning, which Chidambaram’s battery of lawyers argued was not necessary since he didn’t pose a flight risk.
The CBI had registered an FIR on 15 May 2017, alleging irregularities in the FIPB clearance granted to the media group for receiving overseas funds of Rs 305 crore in 2007 during Chidambaram’s tenure as finance minister.
The ED had, in 2018, lodged a money laundering case in this regard.
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