Accusing the 'autocratic' Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government to be blinded by revenge, the Congress Tuesday asserted that such false cases would not deter the party and that it would continue to fight for the people of India.
The statement comes in the wake of the CBI raids underway at former union minister Chidambaram's residence in Chennai, which is in connection with alleged favours granted in FIPB clearance to a firm.
Congress leader Randeep Surjewala dubbed the strategy of the government to lodge false cases against senior opposition leaders as a conspiracy to suppress the voice of the opposition.
"Revenge and registration of false cases has become the DNA of the BJP government. Congress party will not be deterred. We will not bow down. We will continue to fight for the people of this country. Congress leaders will continue to raise their voices on issues and policies where the government has failed India," Surjewala told ANI.
Surjewala asserted that neither P. Chidambaram nor the Congress party would be deterred by such conspiracies to suppress the voice of the opposition.
"Congress leaders will continue to tell India as to how one autocratic ruler cannot suppress the voice of the dissent, cannot suppress the voice of everyone who disagrees with them. We are certain that truth is out there for everybody to judge and see and the truth is that this autocratic government is blinded by revenge and that blinded by revenge intent and motive is pushing them into registering false cases," he said.
More From This Section
With the Chidambaram residence being raided today in connection with the FIPB approval in several cases, the senior Congress leader lashed out at the Centre, accusing it of using national agencies to target his son.
"FIPB approval is granted in hundreds of cases. The five Secretaries who constitute the FIPB, the officials of the FIPB Secretariat and the competent authority in each case are the public officials. There is no allegation against any of them. There is no allegation against me," he said in a statement.
Asserting that every case was processed according to law, Chidambaram added that the approval was granted or refused in accordance with the recommendations of the FIBP consisting of five Secretaries to the Government of India.
"The government, using the CBI and other agencies, is targeting my son and his friends. The government's aim is to silence my voice and stop me from writing, as it has tried to do in the cases of leaders of Opposition parties, journalists, columnists, NGOs and civil society organizations. All I will say is, I shall continue to speak and write," the senior Congress leader added.
Meanwhile, the CBI is expected to raid Chidambaram's native place in Karaikudi also.
The raids are happening at around 14 different locations in Chennai and also in the national capital in connection with the criminal misconduct in grant of FIPB approval.