In a veiled dig at senior Congress leader and former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, PM Narendra Modi today said that his government had pledged to jail corrupts and some are already in, adding that ‘picture abhi baaki hai (full film is yet to come) and the work done by his government in 100 days is just a trailer.
‘Our fight is against corruption and those indulge in such activities. In 100 days we took decisions against such persons. Some of them have been sent to jail,’ PM Modi said at a public meeting in Jharkhand, adding that the focus of his government is to end corruption.
‘A massive crackdown on corruption has begun. Those people who will try to loot the public will be shown their right places,’ he said.
Congress’s P Chidambaram was arrested in connection with the INX Media case on August 21 by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from his New Delhi residence. The case of corruption is linked to government approval of foreign investment in INX Media Private Limited in 2007, when Chidambaram was finance minister in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. Last week, he was sent to Tihar Jail for 14-day judicial custody in INX Media case being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Both P Chidambaram and his son Karti have strongly denied all the allegations and said they were motivated by ‘political vendetta’ by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.
The Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate, country’s main anti corruption and anti-money laundering agencies, have arrested and raided several top political leaders in the last three months since the Modi government came back to the power with a thumping majority for a second term.
The Opposition parties have accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using the investigating agencies to intimidate their leaders or divert the attention of people from real issues.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hit back at the Congress and the other opposition parties for defending Chidambaram. ‘Law enforcement agencies will do their work and courts will do their own work. But, the Congress party and its leadership is trying to convert corruption into a revolution,’ Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.
