The Congress on Thursday continued to rally around its veteran leader P Chidambaram who was arrested in the INX Media case late on Wednesday night, accusing the government of using the two federal agencies –Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate – as “personal revenge seeking departments for parity in power”.

“The vindictive, selective and malicious manner in which former Finance Minister & Home Minister, Shri P Chidambaram has beenpersecuted and prosecuted is nothing short of a brazen personal and political vendetta,” Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said at a media briefing atthe party headquarters.

Chidambaram had made a surprise appearance at the same venueto counter the perception that he was on the run or had anything to hide. The73-year-old Congress leader was picked up by the CBI from his Jor Bagh houseminutes after he reached home in full glare of the cameras and placed underarrest soon after.But before he submitted himself to the CBI, Chidambaram stressed that he was innocent. Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala kept the attacks coming at Thursday morning’s briefing.

“Over the last two days India witnessed the broad daylight murder of democracy and the rule of law by a Government hell bent upon usingCBI and ED as personal revenge seeking departments for the party in power,”Surjewala said.The INX Media case relates to alleged irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance given to the media groupfor receiving foreign investment to the tune of R305 crore in 2007, when Chidambaram was finance minister.The CBI registered a first information report on May 15, 2017 alleging irregularities in the manner the clearance had beenawarded and the ED filed a money laundering case a year later

INX Media co-founders Peter Mukerjea and his wife Indrani Mukerjea have been charged with entering into a criminal conspiracy with Karti Chidambaram to get foreign investment approvals and evade punitive measures fornot having the necessary approvals from FIPB.For an offence that took place nearly a decade ago, Surjewala said, the authorities had been unable to comeout with any clear or precise allegation or a compelling case againstChidambaram.

 “This leads to onlyone unmistakable conclusion - false charges are being heaped upon senior political rivals to silence anyone and everyone in the country,” he said.