Besides Karti Chidambaram, the Lok Sabha MP from Sivaganga, the CBI had named his alleged close associate and chartered accountant, S Bhaskararaman, Talawandi Sabo Power Ltd (TSPL), a subsidiary of Vedanta, and Mumbai-based Bell Tools, through which bribes were allegedly routed.
Attacking the Congress, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said that India has "paid a heavy price" for the sins committed by the Congress while Union Minister Pralhad Joshi has accused the Oppostion party of "mishandling" the situation after the 2011 terror attacks in Mumbai in under foreign pressure.
The Congress leadership is reportedly upset with former Home Minister P Chidambaram for his remarks on 'Operation Blue Star'. Party sources indicate that senior leaders should be cautious about making public statements that could embarrass the party.
Congress sources have told rediff.com that Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram or External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee will replace Shivraj Patil, who resigned on Sunday, as home minister. The announcement is likely to be made in the next couple of hours after the all-party meeting called to discuss the Mumbai terror attacks.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday makes history as she presents a record ninth consecutive Budget that is expected to unveil measures to sustain growth momentum, maintain fiscal discipline, and contain reforms that could buffer the economy from global trade frictions, including US tariffs.
Congress leader P Chidambaram has refuted Home Minister Amit Shah's allegations regarding the delay in the execution of Afzal Guru, calling them a 'lie and distortion'.
The empty cartridges found at Pahalgam and those after test firing by the recovered guns were matched by the forensic lab, Shah said. The ballistic report is with him, he added.
Chidambaram said that Operation Black Thunder was the right way to retrieve the Golden Temple, by keeping the Army out of the Sikh worship place.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asked the Congress to tell the nation who prevented India's military response after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks linked to Pakistan, and accused the party of weakening the fight against terrorism when in power.
Indian industry, which made a strong demand for "tougher laws" and "stronger and firmer leadership" to tackle terrorism, hailed P Chidambaram's appointment as the home minister, saying he can provide the right kind of leadership to tackle the menace.
Congress leader P Chidambaram's remarks questioning the origin of the terrorists behind the Pahalgam attack sparked a fierce political row ahead of the debate in Parliament on Operation Sindoor.
'The preparedness of our defence forces and positioning of intelligence assets were very different in 2008, so we had to rebuild our assets and preparedness.'
Home Minister P Chidambaram addressed chief ministers on internal security.
After entering into a war of words with Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi and actor Shahrukh Khan, Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray has attacked Union Home Minister P Chidambaram for acting as Pakistan's home minister.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday asked Union Minister P Chidambaram to step down in the wake of media reports that he was an alleged beneficiary in the 2G spectrum scam during UPA-I, even as it charged him with failure as home minister in fighting the Naxal menace.
Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind chief Maulana Arshad Madani's remarks alleging discrimination against Muslims, citing the Al Falah University case, have sparked a row with the BJP, who accused him of supporting terrorists.
Senior Congress leader Jagdish Tytler on Monday said the 1984 anti-Sikh riot case against him has been re-investigated by the CBI, which has filed a closure report before the court.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Thursday demanded the resignation of Home Minister P Chidambaram or his removal -- in the wake of the Madras high court rejecting his plea over an election petition -- and said his continuation would be a "blot on democracy".
Home Minister Amit Shah stated in the Rajya Sabha that the terrorists responsible for the Pahalgam attack were killed in Operation Mahadev. He also criticized the Congress party's stance on national security.
"In 1948, Indian armed forces were in a decisive position to take back Pakistan-occupied Kashmir but then PM Jawaharlal Nehru declared unilateral ceasefire," Amit Shah said. In 1971, Shah said, 93,000 Pakistani soldiers surrendered and India had 15,000 sq km Pakistan territory under control, but still PoK was not taken back. During the 1962 war with China, then PM Nehru bade goodbye to Assam in a speech on Akashvani, he said.
When the government chooses to either ignore or use identity documents only when it suits them, it shakes people's sense of stability, notes Shyam G Menon.
The opposition on Saturday termed the absence of female journalists from a press conference of visiting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi "unacceptable" and an "insult to women", and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence in the face of such discrimination exposes the "emptiness" of his slogans on Nari Shakti.
When the government chooses to either ignore or use identity documents only when it suits them, it shakes people's sense of stability, notes Shyam G Menon.
The highlight of Tuesday's debate on Operation Sindoor was the speech by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the rebuttal by Congress's Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi coming a close second.
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.
Oil Minister S Jaipal Reddy on Monday rejected senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Murli Manohar Joshi's attack on Home Minister P Chidambaram on the issue of CAG indictment of his ministry for alleged favours to private firms, saying such attacks would harm decision making at higher levels.
How come the home minister jumped to the conclusion that there was a 'phenomenon' called saffron terrorism? Can he explain where is the phenomenon? Do a couple of sporadic cases that took place during a period of 14 months become a phenomenon? RSS leader Ram Madhav wants to know.
Noting that Maoists still have "pockets of influence" in Lalgarh, the government on Saturday said the situation in the strife-torn area in West Bengal was not stable but maintained that paramilitary forces cannot be deployed there indefinitely.
Pakistan-based groups like Lashker-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed persist in their attempts to launch terror attacks in India posing a "grave" challenge, Home Minister P Chidambaram warned Indian police officials on Monday.
The wife of the French diplomat, who has been accused of raping his three-and-a half year-old daughter, has appealed to the government to ensure that the official faces trial in India even if he enjoys diplomatic immunity.
The Centre on Monday dismissed as "unwarranted" the remarks of BCCI president Shashank Manohar, who had held the government attitude responsible for moving the Indian Premier League out of the country. Manohar, after the BCCI working committee on Sunday, had said that they were forced to take the tournament out of the country because of the government's attitude.
The Congress party has claimed credit for the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, an accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, from the US, saying the Modi government did not initiate the process and merely benefited from the "mature, consistent and strategic diplomacy" begun under the UPA. Former Home Minister P Chidambaram said the government did not secure any breakthrough to make the extradition possible, nor is it the result of any grandstanding. He added that it was a testament to what the Indian state can achieve when diplomacy, law enforcement and international cooperation are pursued sincerely and without any kind of chest-thumping. Chidambaram detailed the UPA government's efforts in securing Rana's extradition, citing the registration of a case against him in 2009, diplomatic pressure on Canada and the US, and continued efforts despite legal setbacks. He highlighted the role of the UPA in securing Rana's conviction for other terrorism-related offences and the cooperation between the US and Indian agencies in gathering evidence and securing his extradition. The Congress leader further stated that it was the UPA's groundwork that paved the way for Rana's extradition, even after the change in government in 2014.
Aishanya Dwivedi, wife of a victim of the Pahalgam terror attack, demands 'Martyr' status for all 26 victims and criticizes political leaders for undermining the gravity of the attack.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi defended India's actions against terrorism, stating no country stopped India and criticizing the Congress party for not supporting the armed forces. He highlighted the success of Operation Sindoor and warned Pakistan against further misadventures.
Union home minister, P Chidambaram, is a worried man. He has to ensure that the Wankhede Stadium is fully secured so that the final of the cricket World Cup passes off peacefully and no terrorist is allowed inside the stadium.
For Malegaon's Muslims, Rahul Gandhi's remarks were simply one more indication that the party they once supported no longer cares for them, notes Jyoti Punwani.
Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday nominated former home minister and Congress member P Chidambaram to the department-related parliamentary standing committee on home affairs.
When former finance minister Palaniappan Chidambaram was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in August 2019, it was considered by some as payback from Home Minister Amit Anilchandra Shah who likely held his predecessor in the home ministry responsible for his own arrest nine years earlier, in July 2010.
Vicky Nanjappa on the challenges that the new Home minister faces
Pillai said that it was surprising to see that the minister, who is competent to revise the affidavit, was taking cover behind the home secretary.
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