Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram is Congress nominee from Maharashtra for the biennial elections to Rajya Sabha while senior leaders Kapil Sibal and Jairam Ramesh have been named from Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka respectively.
Rejecting allegations of vendetta levelled against him and the United Progressive Alliance, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday demanded that the government should ensure that Lalit Modi returns to India to face the probe by the Enforcement Directorate on various charges, including money laundering.
Growth and economic reforms in India must take centre-stage again and acts of corruption or security concerns should not distract the attention of the government and the people, said Union Home Minister and former finance minister P Chidambaram recently.
The former union home and finance minister also alleged that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government would not have taken the bold decision had Jammu and Kashmir been a "Hindu-dominated" state.
The apex court was hearing two separate petitions filed by Chidambaram challenging the Delhi high court August 20 verdict by which his anticipatory bail was dismissed in the cases registered by both the agencies-- CBI and ED.
Soon after arguments on custodial interrogation got over, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who was appearing for Chidambaram, sought permission from special judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar that his client be allowed to speak.
Chidambaram has sought interim bail in the INX media money laundering case on medical grounds, saying his condition is deteriorating and he needs to be in a sterile environment.
After coming out of CBI headquarters in New Delhi, Chidambaram said he had appeared before the CBI and the first information report did not contain any allegations against him.
Chidambaram was competent to give approval of upto Rs 600 crore but he gave the approval which was worth approximately Rs 3,500 crore
The Economic Survey has acknowledged the measures taken by the UPA government on the macro stabilisation front and the successes achieved in containing the current account deficit and reducing the fiscal deficit.
"The fact is that after 106 days of pre-trial incarceration there is not a single charge framed against me as I speak now," said Chidambaram, who is expected to attend the Rajya Sabha proceedings on Thursday.
Special judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar was informed by the Enforcement Directorate that Chidambaram's arrest in the INX Media money laundering case is necessary but it will be done at an appropriate time.
The former finance minister, who walked out of jail on Wednesday night, joined other Congress MPs voicing their protest against the steep hike in onion prices.
CBI had lodged an FIR on May 15, 2017, alleging irregularities in Foreign Investment Promotion Board clearance granted to INX Media group for receiving overseas funds of Rs 305 crore in 2007 during Chidambaram's tenure as union finance minister.
The police should have been alert in preventing the Hyderabad blasts rather than look for culprits once the damage is done, said Ajit Doval, former director of the Intelligence Bureau.
Finance Minister of the BRICS countries had also worked on the idea at various deliberations on the sidelines of the Fund-Bank and G-20 meetings, he said.
Dismissing the contention that the decline in inflation was on account of the steps taken by the NDA government, Chidambaram said he wanted to know, 'what measures were taken by the government that contributed to decline in inflation rates.'
Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram had said he was "disappointed and profoundly saddened" by Rajan's decision.
The Shiv Sena on Monday slammed the Congress for fielding former Union minister P Chidambaram from Maharashtra for the Rajya Sabha poll, saying the party has "damaged itself by foisting him on the state".
Rajan is an acknowledged academic, author and intellectual. He spoke on issues which are in the public domain, said Chidambaram
"If the government wishes to target me, they should do so directly, not harass friends of my son who carry on their own businesses and have nothing to do with politics," he said in a statement shortly after reports of IT and ED searches on some premises connected with Karti's friends.
Wedding preparations for Parineeti Chopra and AAP leader Raghav Chadha are in full swing.
A bench headed by Justice R Banumathi rejected the review plea filed by the CBI saying the last year verdict does not suffer from any error apparent warranting its reconsideration.
Rejecting reports of his evading the law, he told reporters that the charges against him and his son were 'nothing further from truth'.
"Considering the facts and circumstances, I am of the view that police custody is justified," the judge said.
The Enforcement Directorate opposed the bail application before special judge O P Saini in its written submission and sought time to argue the matter.
NDA seems to have been seduced by the rise in the stock market and the adulation showered at organised Indian diaspora events, former FM said.
The bench said that he would not tamper with the evidence or attempt to intimidate or influence the witnesses in the case.
The senior Congress leader was in New Delhi to campaign in Maharashtra Assembly polls.
The bullet train project, linking Mumbai and Ahmedabad, is not for ordinary people but an "ego trip for the high and mighty", he alleged.
P Chidambaram presented the Union Budget for the eighth time.
The former home minister also said that the "highest quarters (in government) don't inspire trust".
"I will address a press conference tomorrow. I am happy that the Supreme Court passed the order granting bail," added Chidambaram.
Officials said the agency had issued a notice to Karti to present himself in person or through an authorised representative and submit personal financial documents and those related to a firm this week.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Monday stepped into the 2G spectrum row that has engulfed the government by meeting Home Minister P Chidambaram and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee amid unconfirmed reports that the former had offered to quit.
What stood out in his 15-year journey as a member of the political executive at the Centre was his glowing record as India's most successful and effective finance minister. Both as prime minister and finance minister, he understood the importance of gradualism, except when the economy or the polity was in a crisis.
'...still have lost the 2014 Lok Sabha polls but could have won 140 seats.'
The former finance minister also said the centre should find out the areas in Jammu and Kashmir where autonomy can be given.
Terming senior Congress leader P Chidambaram as 'unsuccessful' as the Union home minister, even as the finance minister earlier, former Bharatiya Janata Party president Murli Manohar Joshi on Sunday demanded that Prime Minister should seek his resignation.
The Central Bureau of Investigation had registered an FIR on May 15, 2017 alleging irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board clearance granted to the media group for receiving overseas funds of Rs 305 crore in 2007 during Chidambaram's tenure as finance minister.
