CBI books Karti Chidambaram for illegal grafts; raids his, PC’s properties

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against Karti Chidambaram for allegedly receiving illegal gratification of Rs 50 lakh to facilitate visa of 250 Chinese nationals during the UPA regime. The CBI also raided his and his father P Chidambaram’s properties in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai for the investigation.
Searches by the CBI on ex-Finance Minister Chidambaram’s premises are also linked to his son Karti, sources told CNN-News18. The raids are on at seven locations, the channel added.
His office told ANI that the CBI is “conducting searches at multiple locations (residence and office), in connection with an ongoing case”.
After the news broke, Karti took to Twitter to voice his part: “I have lost count, how many times has it been? Must be a record.”
Officials told PTI on May 17 that the CBI has registered a case against Karti for allegedly receiving illegal gratification of Rs 50 lakh to facilitate visa of 250 Chinese nationals during the UPA regime.
They added that the CBI began searches at nine premises, including Karti’s residence and two other locations in Chennai, three in Mumbai, and one each in Karnataka, Odisha and Punjab.
Notably, Karti is already under investigation in relation to getting Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance for INX media, the officials added.
Meanwhile, the veteran leader also reacted to the developments around noon, tweeting: “This morning, a CBI team searched my residence at Chennai and my official residence at Delhi. The team showed me a FIR in which I am not named as an accused. The search team found nothing and seized nothing. I may point out that the timing of the search is interesting.”
The “timing” Chidambaram may be referencing is his latest criticism against BJP leader and Union Minister Kiren Rijiju’s Lakshman Rekha remarks after the Supreme Court put on hold the application of sedition law.
As the Supreme Court put on hold the application of sedition law, Rijiju had invoked “Lakshman Rekha” guiding different institutions, including the Executive and the Judiciary, and said no one should cross their “boundary”. Reacting to his remarks, Chidambaram had said the Law Minister of India has no authority to draw any “arbitrary Lakshman Rekha” and should read Article 13 of the Constitution.
“The Legislature cannot make a law, nor can a law be allowed to remain on the statute book, that violates the Fundamental Rights. The sedition law, in the view of many legal scholars, violates Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution,” the former Union minister said on Twitter. “All the King’s horses and all the King’s men cannot save that law,” Chidambaram said in a swipe at the Centre.
In response, the Union law minister reminded the senior Congress leader of the decisions taken by the Nehru and the Indira governments on freedom of speech and sedition.