New Delhi, August 21: Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra came out in support of former finance minister P Chidambaram who is facing arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) after the cancellation of his bail plea. Defending Chidambaram, Priyanka Gandhi said the senior Congress leader "is being shamefully hunted down" for "exposing government's failures".

"An extremely qualified and respected member of the Rajya Sabha, @PChidambaram_IN ji has served our nation with loyalty for decades including as Finance Minister & Home Minister. He unhesitatingly speaks truth to power and exposes the failures of this government but the truth is inconvenient to cowards so he is being shamefully hunted down," Priyanka Gandhi said in a tweet. P Chidambaram Defies CBI Notice, Remains Untraceable; Supreme Court to Hear His Bail Plea Today.

"We stand by him and will continue to fight for the truth no matter what the consequences are," she added. The Congress party on Tuesday described CBI and ED action against Chidambaram as "political vendetta" and accused the government of targeting opposition leaders. Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma questioned the manner in which the CBI and ED teams descended at Chidambaram's residence.

Priyanka Gandhi Defends Chidambaram:

"Chidambaram approached the High Court for anticipatory bail, which is his right and the court did not accept that. That order is appealable and an application has already been moved, which will be heard in the Supreme Court tomorrow. I fail to understand what is going to happen at night. Heavens have not opened up," Sharma said.

Hours after the Delhi High Court cancelled Chidambaram's plea for protection from arrest, a six-member team of CBI and ED officials arrived at his Jor Bagh residence one after the other, but could not find him there. The CBI also pasted a notice on the gate asking the senior Congress leader to appear before R Parthasarthy, CBI Deputy SP, who is probing the INX Media case.

However, Chidambaram defied the notice. His lawyer asked the CBI not to take any coercive action against the former union minister as his petition is to be heard in the Supreme Court today.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 21, 2019 10:22 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).