No Min Will Sign Files If Chidu Case Goes On Congress

The Congress on Friday accused the Modi government of a sustained campaign of vilification and character assassination of former union minister P Chidambaram as a political vendetta.

Its senior leader Jairam Ramesh said the agencies engaged daily in ferreting out half-truths have not disclosed that the INX Media was one of the 24 proposals for foreign investments put up before Chidambaram as then finance minister and there were 11 signatures, including six by members of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board, the under secretary, the deputy secretary, the joint secretary, the additional secretary and the finance secretary.

Pointing out a statement by Chidambaram on September 9 that he does not want action against any of these officer because they have done nothing wrong, Jairam said all that the minister had done is to approve what was approved by all these 11 officers.

However, he said, if the ministers are hauled up for signing the files and penalty is custody in Tihar Jail, no minister will sign the files. Jairam said he was himself a minister for eight years and he must have signed hundreds of files, sometimes diagreeing and sometimes agreeing with the officers' comments, giving reasons when disagreed.