On 99th Day in Jail, Chidambaram Paid a Visit by Rahul and Priyanka; Show of Strength, Says Karti

New Delhi: Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited the Tihar jail on Wednesday to meet former finance minister P Chidambaram ahead of the Supreme Court hearing his petition for bail in the INX media corruption case.

The senior Congress leader was first arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on August 21 in the INX Media case and was granted bail by the Supreme Court on October 22. He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in the money laundering case on October 16 and is in judicial custody till November 27 under the order of a trial court.

"Today Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra met my father. This sends out a very strong message that the Congress party is with him," Karti Chidamabaram, who was also present during the meeting that lasted for close to 50 minutes, said.

He also hoped for justice from the Supreme Court. "My father has been in jail for the past 99 days," he said.

Senior Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari had met Chidambaram on Monday. Earlier, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh had paid him a visit in prison.

On Tuesday, the probe agency opposed Chidambaram's bail plea in the top court claiming that he used the "influential office" of finance minister for "personal gains" and laundered proceeds of crime to conceal "tainted money". In a counter affidavit filed in court, the ED alleged that Chidambaram is not entitled for bail as sufficient evidence has come on record that he has been "indulging in destruction of evidence" and influencing the witnesses.