Describing the INX money laundering case as a "scam of massive corruption", the BJP on Thursday attacked the Congress for supporting P Chidambaram, arrested in the case, saying it has "united to protect corruption" and that a court's decision to send him to four-day CBI custody shows a "prima facie case of corruption".
Senior BJP leader Prakash Javadekar also rejected the Congress accusation that the action against the former finance minister is "political vendetta". "In fact, justice is happening," he said.
"The CBI court's decision to send him in remand makes it clear that it is a corruption case. There is a prime facie case and that is why the court has remanded him to the probe agency's custody. Therefore, the Congress accusation that it is political vendetta is wrong. In fact, justice is happening," Javadekar, also the information and broadcasting minister, told PTI.
Arrested on Wednesday in a alleged money laundering case, Chidambaram was sent to four-day CBI custody by a Delhi court after the probe agency argued that his custodial interrogation was justified in the INX Media case.
With top Congress leaders, including Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, strongly defending Chidambaram and accusing the Union government of political vendetta, Javadekar hit back at the opposition party.
"The Congress has united to protect corruption. It is synonymous with corruption. When in power, it looted the country left right and centre," he said, and described the INX Media case as a "scam of massive corruption".
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He referred to several alleged scams, including those involving coal block allocations, 2G spectrum and the Commonwealth Games, to say the Congress' rule during 2004-14 was "synonymous" with corruption.
He also spoke of "Jeeja ji scam", an apparent reference to controversial land deals involving Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's brother-in-law Robert Vadra.
Rejecting the Congress' allegation that the government was behind the action of investigation agencies, he said the matter should be left to investigation agencies and courts.
"Looting the country was their (Congress) only mission and therefore, law is now catching up. We don't interfere in the works of the CBI or any other probe agency. Law will take its own course, but now the Congress is united for protecting the corrupt. It is in support of corruption and this is on display," Javadekar said.
The BJP leader noted that he and his ministerial colleague Hansraj Ahir during the first term of the Narendra Modi government had opposed the CBI's decision to file closure reports in some coal scam cases.
It shows that our party and government keeps away from the works of probe agencies, he said, and added that the Congress government had changed the CBI report in the law ministry on coal scam, following which the then law minister Ashwani Kumar had to resign.
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