New Delhi: The Congress party, which is crying foul over the arrest of its senior leader and former Union Minister P Chidambaram by the CBI in connection with the INX Media alleged corruption case, has several top rung leaders who are currently involved in legal cases and are out on bail.
The list of Congress leaders who are out on bail is very long and it involves interim Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul, its Kerala MP Shashi Tharoor and many others.
Among other Congress leaders who are under the scanner are former MP Chief Minister Digvijay Singh, former UPPCC chief Raj Babbar, former Himachal Pradesh CM Virbhadra Singh, former Congress treasurer Motilal Vora and former Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Siddhu.
The first two names name in the list are of the mother and son duo at the helm of the party – Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi – the one being the interim president and current chairperson of the UPA and the other being the former party president. The mother-son duo is currently out on bail in the National Herald case.
In the National Herald scam, the Congress top brass, especially Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, are believed to have minted millions from an ailing news agency called National Herald. The case also involves party treasurer Motilal Vora.
National HeraldĀ had become defunct by 2008. According to the court proceedings, the accused are allegedly charged with the following provisions: Misappropriation of property, Criminal breach of trust, cheating, criminal conspiracy under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code.
The next name in the list is party’s Thiruvanthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor. He is a writer and was a senior UN functionary before entering into Indian politics. In the popular imagination, he is the party’s intellectual backbone.
Tharoor, who is under the scanner in connection with the mysterious death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar, was recently granted bail by the Delhi court. Tharoor had been chargesheeted by the Delhi Police under Section 498A and Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code.Ā He has been accused of subjecting his wife, Sunanda Pushkar to cruelty and abetment to suicide.
Next in the list is former Home Minister P Chidambaram who, along with his son Karti, was earlier given bail in the Aircel-Maxis scam case.
Chidambaram and his family are facing probes in many corruption cases such as Aircel-Maxis scam, INX media scam, the alleged land grabbing case in Tamilnadu, the black money case and the AirAsia scam.Ā Chidambaram’s name had cropped up in all these scams in some way or the other.
Former MP Chief Minister and Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh has been named in several cases including the Vyapam Scam and defamation cases filed again him by the AIMIM and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari.
Former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has been charged with alleged criminal misconduct and amassing disproportionate assets of over Rs 10 crore.
Other important leaders of Congress party who are facing court battles and are out on bail are Congress party’s overseas wing head Sam Pitroda, Oscar Fernandes and Raj Babbar.