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Freedom a never ending struggle, tweets Chidambaram from Tihar on Gandhi Jayanti
In his tweets, Chidambaram traced how world has evolved from enslavement to the flowering of democracy in the 20th century which brought hope of liberty and equality to millions of people around the world.
Former finance minister P Chidambaram, who has been in Tihar jail for four weeks in the INX Media case, on Wednesday paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi in a string of tweets that also raised questions about democracy, which he said, was being “hollowed out in country after country”.
“Which way will India go? Freedom is a never ending struggle. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty,” tweeted Chidambaram. The 74-year-old politician’s account is being handled by his family who, he said, had been asked to tweet the message on October 2, 2019.
In his tweets, Chidambaram traced how the world had evolved from enslavement to the flowering of democracy in the 20th century that brought hope of liberty and equality to hundreds of countries and millions of people.
“The 21st century has eroded that hope. Democracy is being hollowed out in country after country - Venezuela, Russia, Myanmar, Turkey, Hungary and now even in the United States,” he said, wondering what lies next for India.
Chidambaram was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation on August 21 in the INX Media case, a move that the veteran Congress leader and his party have blamed on vendetta politics. Chidambaram, who was questioned for nearly a fortnight, has been in Tihar jail for the last four weeks.
Also Watch: CBI & ED heat on Chidambaram: All there is to know about the INX media case
Chidambaram’s request to be set free on bail was rejected by the Delhi High Court this week over concerns that he could influence witnesses.
The CBI has alleged irregularities in the grant of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to INX Media co-founded by Peter and Indrani Mukherjea to receive overseas investment to the tune of Rs 305 crore in 2007, when Chidambaram was finance minister in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.
Peter and Indrani Mukerjea have been charged with entering into a criminal conspiracy with P Chidambaram’s son Karti, to secure clearance from FIPB. Indrani, however, turned approver against Chidambaram and told the CBI that a deal of $1 million had been struck between Karti Chidambaram and the Mukerjeas to secure the approvals. P Chidambaram and son Karti have denied that they ever met Indrani Mukherjea.
