Was not hiding from law: P Chidambaram
Chidambaram’s appearance at the Congress headquarters to articulate his position on a legal matter, pertaining to alleged irregularities in the grant of FIPB clearance to a foreign investment in INX Media Pvt. Ltd in 2007 when he was finance minister, underscored the staunch support he received from the party’s top leadership.
Amid tight security and in the presence of hundreds of supporters, former Union minister P Chidambaram made a dramatic entry in the Congress’s national headquarters on Wednesday evening to declare the he had not been “hiding” from the law and that he would “walk with a clear conscience and head held high” as the party threw its full support behind him.
“I was aghast that I was accused of hiding from the law; on the contrary, I was seeking the protection of the law. I was accused of running away from justice; on the contrary I was engaged in the pursuit of justice,” the former finance minister, who had been missing since Tuesday evening, said, reading from a written statement with at least eight senior Congress leaders next to him.
Minutes before he drove back home, Chidambaram also said that while he had a clear conscience and respected the law, he hoped that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) also showed respect to law. He was referring to the Supreme Court scheduling for Friday a hearing on his anticipatory bail plea.
“Between now and Friday, I shall walk with clear conscience and my head held high. I shall respect the law even if it is applied with an unequal hand by the investigating agencies. In the name of freedom, I can only hope and pray that the investigating agencies will also respect the law. In the present circumstances, respect for the law can mean only one thing – await the decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court on Friday,” he read. Chidambaram didn’t take any questions from the assembled reporters.
Chidambaram’s appearance at the Congress headquarters to articulate his position on a legal matter, pertaining to alleged irregularities in the grant of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to a foreign investment in INX Media Pvt. Ltd in 2007 when he was finance minister, underscored the staunch support he received from the party’s top leadership.
Earlier in the day, both Rahul Gandhi and Priyanaka Gandhi Vadra had posted messages on Twitter slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government for its alleged misuse of power.
Chidambaram said: “In the INX Media case, I have not been accused of any offence. Nor has anyone else including any member of my family been accused of any offence. In fact, there is no charge sheet filed by either the CBI or ED before a competent court. Moreover, the FIR recorded by the CBI does not impute to me any wrongdoing. Yet, there is a widespread impression that grave offences have been committed and my son and I have committed those offences. Nothing can be further from the truth. These are lies spread by pathological liars.”
The Congress rallied its bug guns, senior leader Ahmed Patel; leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad; general secretaries KC Venugopal and Mallikarjuna Kharge; and its legal brains Kapil Sibal Abhishek Singhvi, Salman Khurshid and Vivek Tankha, to show its support for Chidambaram. Another general secretary, Mukul Wasnik, was also present in the media briefing hall when Chidambaram spoke.
According to senior leaders, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Rahul and Priyanka were in constant touch with Singhvi, Sibal and Khurshid. After the lawyers failed to take up the matter in the Supreme Court on Wednesday, Singhvi drafted a statement for Chidambaram and advised him to address the media.
Sonia Gandhi, one party leader said, made it clear that Chidambaram must use the party’s platform to read out the statement. Other leaders also told Chidambaram to come to the party office.
The former finance minister also explained the reasons behind his absence from the public glare for 24 hours after the Delhi high court dismissed his petitions for anticipatory bail. “In the last 24 hours much has happened that has caused concern to some and confusion to many. My statement today is to dispel that concern and confusion.”
“My lawyers, who are also my dear friends who are present here, advised me to move the Hon’ble Supreme Court. On my behalf, they did so yesterday evening and today. They appealed, repeatedly to the Hon’ble Supreme Court to list the appeals for hearing urgently and, in the meanwhile, grant me interim protection. While my lawyers – all senior Counsels – were moving the Hon’ble Supreme Court, other lawyers and I worked through the night last night to prepare the papers. We completed the task only this morning and immediately filed the appeals in the Hon’ble Supreme Court. I was working alongside my lawyers the whole of last night. Today, throughout the day, I was with my lawyers following the proceedings in the Hon’ble Supreme Court,” he said.
Chidambaram also added, “I believe that the foundation of a democracy is liberty. The most precious Article of the Constitution of India is Article 21 that guarantees life and liberty. If I am asked to choose between life and liberty, I shall unhesitatingly choose liberty. Why are the years up to 1947 called the years of freedom struggle? Because, to win freedom, we must struggle. To preserve freedom too, we must struggle.”
The former minister noted that despite the impassioned pleas of his lawyers, the cases hadn’t been listed for hearing on Wednesday but on Friday. “I bow down to the orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court. Some days ago, when I spoke in Parliament, I had said that every judge in this country will uphold the liberty of a citizen. I had said that the collective conscience and the institutional memory of the court, as a venerable institution, will guide all judges of the country. As much as I believe in liberty, I also believe in the wisdom of our judges.”
“So, until Friday, and beyond, let us hope that the lamp of liberty will shine bright and illuminate the whole country,” he said before leaving the room.
He left the Congress office along with Singhvi and Sibal in the same car, a brown Toyota Corolla, and drove to his home in Jorbagh, where in the night he was arrested by the CBI.
Singhvi, a member of Chidambaram’s legal team, said it was sad and distressing to see how eager the agencies were to arrest the Congress leader, who posed no flight risk and against whom no evidence existed of him trying to tamper with evidence.
He said he respected Chidambaram’s “courage because despite not being required to speak to the nation, he did so and held his head high.”
