In an hour-long televised drama Wednesday, CBI officials scaled the walls of former Union Minister P. Chidambaram’s house and arrested him in the INX Media case, as Congress supporters protested.
The Delhi High Court had called Chidambaram the “kingpin” in the case. High profile economic offenders like Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya have earlier fled India.
ThePrint asks: Chidambaram arrest: Political drama or govt can’t risk it after Mallya, Nirav Modi flight?
I am sure CBI investigation team thought of all contingencies before arresting Chidambaram
Ranjit Sinha
Former CBI Director
The two cases are as different as chalk from cheese. Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya absconded after defrauding the banks, whereas Chidambaram’s case is related to alleged malfeasance in conduct of official duties for personal gain.
Having said that, the CBI goes for arrests when the accused is not cooperating, is likely to abscond or may tamper with evidence. To the best of my knowledge, the former Union finance minister cannot be faulted on any of the above three grounds. The case is still under investigation, and I am sure the investigation team must have thought of all contingencies before taking the step.
Chidambaram could not have committed the alleged crime alone. It is a case of criminal conspiracy and the minister approved the proposal sent by a committee of five secretaries to the government of India. They are as culpable as the minister. Although the Delhi High Court has labelled Chidambaram as the kingpin, the details are not available. Let us wait till the hearing in the Supreme Court Friday. The jury is still out in the case.
Mallya and Nirav Modi comparison doesn’t apply. The Chidambaram arrest is a simple case of law catching up
Sudhanshu Mittal
BJP Spokesperson
I don’t think the comparison with Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya applies here. It is a simple case of law catching up with a criminal. The high and mighty have always thought that they are above the law. The famous statement “kanoon ke haath bohot lambe hain” has been validated with this arrest.
It is a case of corruption that was exposed when Indrani Mukerjea and Peter Mukerjea gave statements under Section 164 in front of the magistrate, which is admissible evidence. When an accused says ‘I did the crime’ and names the accomplices, it is the duty of the investigative agency to follow up.
Once the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court have refused him protection, where is the necessity to wait? Second, once he has been arrested, there is nothing pending in the SC. Waiting for the SC hearing is a frivolous argument being propounded as a means to escape law. Chidambaram wants the executive to give him protection, almost as if they superior to the wisdom of the SC. It is a very desperate plea by a criminal and is almost laughable.
Here is a case that has irrefutable evidence. It is for this reason that the Delhi High Court has also upheld that Chidambaram was the “kingpin” of the financial scandal. There is no politics in it.
Also read: Congress’ friends Mamata, Stalin speak up against Chidambaram arrest but NCP & RJD are mum
If Modi govt expects people to believe they are acting against corruption, they should go after Yediyurappa
Sushmita Dev
President, All India Mahila Congress
In the INX media case, I believe the law should take its own course. However, one must also see the manner in which the CBI has handled the entire case and the hurried arrest of P. Chidambaram. They gave only two-hours’ notice to a member of Parliament, then jumped over his walls after he gave a press conference for half an hour – 45 minutes after which they knew he was going home. All of this simply signifies that the CBI is doing nothing but dancing to the tunes of their masters.
If one looks at Chidambaram’s track record, nobody can say that he has avoided investigations. The CBI has sensationalised the entire arrest and there is clearly a lot more than meets the eye.
It is also quite interesting to note that whoever joins the BJP, their chargesheet magically disappears. Instead of going to jail, they join the BJP. It’s almost as though the BJP is a better option compared to jail. If the Modi government expects people in the country to believe that they are going after corruption, then they should go after Yediyurappa, the Reddy brothers, Himanta Biswa Sarma and others. And what about Jay Shah? Why doesn’t the ED question him?
Chidambaram’s arrest is part of BJP’s move to show maximum ‘achievements’ in first 100 days of its second innings
Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay
Political Analyst and Author of Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times
P. Chidambaram’s arrest was political drama staged by the Modi government for its benefit. The decision to arrest him, obviously with clearance from the highest levels in government, has to be seen alongside other important decisions of Modi 2.0.
Coupled with legislations passed in the first session of the 17th Lok Sabha – triple talaq, amendment to the UAPA empowering government to designate individuals as terrorists and providing untrammelled jurisdiction to the NIA, decisions on Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and statehood – Chidambaram’s arrest is part of the BJP’s move to show maximum ‘achievements’ in the first 100 days of its second innings.
During the campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi remarked that in five years since 2014, he had pushed the entire Congress leadership to the doorstep of jails and the entire leadership was out on bail. He promised to send them inside in his second coming, and has done so. The intention is not to either secure conviction or eradicate corruption – if that was the case why has there been no investigations against members of his party and their relatives?
The timing, purpose and process of Chidambaram’s arrest are as important to understand as the other decisions of Modi 2.0. The government would not have even half-believed claims of drumbeaters that Chidambaram would have flown the Mallya-Nirav Modi way. Action has been taken to provide another occasion for supporters to celebrate and jubilate for having a ‘decisive’ government.
Also read: 7 politicians with corruption charges CBI and ED won’t raid
Chidambaram was home minister when CBI arrested Amit Shah. His arrest now is just political vendetta
Shivam Vij
Contributing Editor, ThePrint
The government should have known that Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi were flight risks, and yet it looked the other way. In the case of Vijay Mallya, a notice barring him from leaving the country was actually changed to let him fly, by this very Modi government-run CBI. Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi were similarly able to leave the country, but then they were not opposition leaders who needed to be intimidated and humiliated.
If flight risk was the issue, the government could have put P. Chidambaram’s name on the no-fly list. Preventing P. Chidambaram from escaping the country — if at all this was a fear — did not need arresting him.
As Chidambaram himself argued, the investigating agencies run by the Modi government could have waited till the Supreme Court decided on his anticipatory bail plea Friday. But the hurry to arrest Chidambaram has been nothing but political.
Anyone else in a case built flimsily on accusations made by a murder-accused without evidence, would have been treated better by the law. But P. Chidambaram is not anyone: he was the home minister when Amit Shah was arrested by the CBI and jailed on charges of murder in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case. The arrest of P. Chidambaram is nothing but political vendetta. Someone is loving their schadenfreude.
By Revathi Krishnan and Taran Deol
I just want to say of Chidambaram is found, let him be punished as per law. My question is will government agencies would be allowed to show same zeal who have taken shelter in ruling party, if they are not, from caged parrot, it would be turned as Chidambaram Bureau of Investigation ?
Whether PC is guilty of having misused his power, when the Congress was in power, for his personal or filial advantage has to be decided by the courts. But, the unseemly haste in which the government agencies secured his arrest no doubt exposes the Modi-Shah duo to the charge of vendetta.
Chidu is also a crook, and so are some BJP members.
By arresting Chidu, Modi wants to send a message to his boss Sonia. Subramaniam Swamy accused Chidu of being the money launderer on behalf of Sonia. remarkably, nobody in the Congress took Swamy to court.
Without commenting on the merits of the case, Shri P Chidambaram was not a flight risk. By way of abundant precaution, his passport could have been entrusted to the competent court. He does not owe thousands of crores to PSBs. He is also one of India’s senior most lawyers, who enjoy the status of officers of the court. If he is thought guilty of a financial crime, he could be prosecuted in a court of law. As of today, he has credibility and face value. He cannot be equated with Salman Khan. It would not dilute the sacred principle of equality before the law if judicial courtesies are extended to him.