A sense of disbelief and outrage was palpable among supporters of Congress leader P Chidambaram in and around his native village of Karaikudi in Sivaganga district over his arrest, even as a section of people expressed indifference and some outrightly opposed him.
The former Finance Minister was arrested by the CBI Wednesday night from his residence in Delhi in connection with INX media corruption case.
In the sleepy hamlet of Kandanur, about 10 km from Karaikudi, though life appeared to go on as usual, the arrest of Chidambaram set tongues wagging.
Expressing disbelief, V Nelliyan told PTI "this is nothing but an act of political vendetta."
"The vindictive action has incensed the common man," he claimed, adding that the courts would render justice and the BJP-led government would be exposed for targeting "an honest gentleman."
Similar was the response from a couple of others, including Rajaratinam and Avudayappan, who also lauded the senior leader for maintaining "poise and cool" despite the government "perusing vindictive politics."
G Vimal, who runs a construction material retail outlet in downtown Karaikudi said "Chidambaram is not a resident of our place. He is usually either in Chennai or Delhi..only some party workers are agitated here and not the general public."
A man working for a school, declining to give out his name said, "we have seen him going in a car... other than that we do not know anything...what do you want me to comment and what difference is it going to make,?"
The AMMK functionary said "even during the Lok Sabha poll campaign, we pointed out the cases being faced by Chidambaram and his son Karti....we had rightly asked how people can be effectively served in view of such cases."
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content