New Delhi, August 21: Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi defended P Chidambaram who is facing arrest in the INX Media case. Rahul Gandhi, in a tweet, described actions by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) against Chidambaram as "misuse of power" by the Modi government. He said the actions are aimed at tarnishing Chidambaram's image.

"Modi's Govt is using the ED, CBI & sections of a spineless media to character assassinate Mr Chidambaram. I strongly condemn this disgraceful misuse of power," Rahul tweeted on Wednesday. Earlier today, Rahul's sister and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra came out in support of Chidambaram saying he is being "shamefully" hunted down for exposing the failures of the central government.

Rahul Gandhi Defends Chidambaram:

Priyanka called Chidambaram an extremely qualified and respected member of the Rajya Sabha, and added that the party stands by its leader and "will continue to fight for the truth no matter what the consequences are". "He unhesitatingly speaks truth to power and exposes the failures of this government, but the truth is inconvenient to cowards so he is being shamefully hunted down," she tweeted.

Priyanka Gandhi Backs Chidambaram:

A day after the Delhi High Court rejected the former Minister's anticipatory bail plea in the INX Media case, Chidambaram moved the Supreme Court. However, a bench headed by Justice N V Ramana today refused to grant interim relief from arrest to him and referred his matter to Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi for urgent hearing.

A six-member team of CBI and ED officials arrived at his Jor Bagh residence one after the other on Tuesday, but could not find him there. The CBI also pasted a notice on the gate asking the senior Congress leader to appear before R Parthasarthy, CBI Deputy SP, who is probing the INX Media case. However, Chidambaram defied the notice.

The CBI is probing Chidambaram's role in the INX Media case related to irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to the media group for receiving Rs 305 crore overseas funds in 2007 during his tenure as the Finance Minister. The ED is probing a money laundering case, it registered in 2018.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 21, 2019 01:25 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).