New Delhi, December 4: Congress lawmaker Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday expressed confidence in former Finance Minister P Chidambaram who was granted bail today by the Supreme Court in the INX Media case. In a tweet, Rahul Gandhi said that P Chidambaram's "incarceration was vengeful and vindictive", adding that the Congress leader will soon come out clean after "fair trial". The Congress is planning to accord a grand welcome to Chidambaram on his release from jail.

"Mr P Chidambaram's 106 day incarceration was vengeful and vindictive. I'm glad that the SC has granted him bail. I'm confident that he will be able to prove his innocence in a fair trial (sic)," Rahul Gandhi tweeted. He along with his sister and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited Chidambaram in Tihar jail last week. The visit came almost a month after Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met Chidambaram in the jail. 'Phew... At Last After 106 Days', Karti Chidambaram Tweets After P Chidambaram Granted Bail in INX Media Case.

Rahul Gandhi's Tweet on P Chidambaram's Release:

Earlier today, the Supreme Court granted Chidambaram bail in the INX Media case. A bench headed by Justice R. Banumathi directed the Congress leader not to make any public statement regarding the INX Media case nor attempt to intimidate the witnesses. The apex court has also imposed conditions on his bail: Chidambaram's passport will remain confiscated, he will not be allowed to leave the country without permission and he will give no interviews to the press.

Chidambaram is being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with granting of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to INX Media while he was the Finance Minister. The former Union Minister was arrested on August 21 by the CBI and then sent to the judicial custody on September 5. He was later arrested by the ED in connection with the money laundering in the INX Media case.

Earlier, Rahul Gandhi had said that the Modi government was using the CBI and ED and "sections of a spineless media" to malign Chidambaram's image. "Modi's government is using the ED, CBI and sections of a spineless media to character assassinate Chidambaram. I strongly condemn this disgraceful misuse of power," he had tweeted shortly before Chidambaram's arrest.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 04, 2019 04:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).