BJP attacks Chidambaram over alleged foreign assets, asks Rahul to take action

In a scathing attack on former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharam on Sunday accused the Congress of failing to take any action against him for not disclosing his foreign assets

Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman speaks during the press conference at BJP Headquarters in New Delhi on Sunday. (PTI Photo

NEW DELHI: In a scathing attack on former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharam on Sunday accused the Congress of failing to take any action against him for not disclosing his alleged foreign assets. Addressing the media here, She also asked whether Congress president Rahul Gandhi would investigate the matter. "The Congress President (Rahul Gandhi), who himself is out on bail on a financial matter, should certainly comment and tell people of India if he is going to investigate on Chidambaram's not having disclosed income held abroad," she told the media. Calling it the “Nawaz Sharif moment” of the Congress Party, Sitharaman said that the alleged financial discrepancies can’t be overlooked by the party. "For some time now, we have been hearing through the media that a lot of action by the Income Tax (IT) authorities against the former Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, and his family. We want to draw through the media, your attention and also the people of India's attention, to the facts around it and put forth before you, if in India for the Congress party, this is the Nawaz Sharif moment," ANI quoted the defence minister as saying. "All of us are aware that in Pakistan due to a non-disclosure of assets held abroad, non-disclosure partly or fully of assets and income earned from abroad, the Pakistan Supreme Court had disqualified Nawaz Sharif and the parallels cannot be missed out in this case." In July 2017, Pakistan Supreme Court disqualified former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from holding the top post over corruption charges in the Panama Papers case. Reacting to Sitharaman's attack, Chidambaram said the defence minister is behaving like a lawyer of the Income Tax department. Taking a jibe at Sitharaman, the Congress leader said: "The buzz in Delhi is that Ms Nirmala Sitaraman will be removed as Defence Minister and appointed as lawyer of the Income-tax department. Welcome to the bar, Ms Sitaraman."

The buzz in Delhi is that Ms Nirmala Sitaraman will be removed as Defence Minister and appointed as lawyer of the Income-tax department. Welcome to the bar, Ms Sitaraman.

— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) May 13, 2018

(With inputs from ANI)