Former Union minister P Chidambaram today hit out at the government as raids were conducted on two firms in Chennai, one of which had links to his son Karti. Calling it a “malicious onslaught,” Mr Chidambaram said if the government wished to target him, it should do so “directly”.
The raids were conducted by the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax department on Advantage Strategic Consulting, a company with which Karti Chidambaram was associated earlier.
“If the government wishes to target me, they should do so directly, not harass friends of my son who carry on their own businesses and have nothing to do with politics,” P Chidambaram said in a statement. “My family and I are quite prepared to face the malicious onslaught launched by the government.”
In August, two directors of the company had been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the Aircel-Maxis case and charges of money laundering.
Sources said there was allegedly a financial transaction of more than Rs. 200 crore between these two companies and Aircel Maxis just before clearance came from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board or FIPB for the Aircel merger.
The whole matter is under scrutiny as part of the overall probe into the 2G scam, which the Supreme Court is monitoring.
“We have made it clear, repeatedly, that no member of my family has any equity or economic interest in any of the firms that are being targeted,” the former union minister said. “They are companies that are professionally managed and are capable of answering any question that may be put to them by the authorities. I condemn the attempt to link them to my son and harass them on that ground,” he said.
In his statement, the former minister alleged that the raids were being conducted at the behest of the government by an officer who has a pending dispute with the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.
The orders in the case were apparently passed during the term of his predecessor, the former minister said. “He met me and wanted me to intervene in his favour. I declined… the change of government has given him an opportunity to misuse his powers to harass my son and his friends,” the statement read.