Karti alleges breach of MP's privilege in probe against him

Congress MP Karti Chidambaram has complained to the Lok Sabha Speaker that he and his family have become "targets of a relentless campaign" by the Centre and investigating agencies and that such "targeted intimidation" and "foisting of fake cases" on a member of Parliament amounted to a breach of privilege. He also alleged that during the raids at his house the Central Bureau of Investigation officials seized sensitive documents related to a parliamentary standing committee which too amounted to breach of his privilege as an MP.

"Over the course of the past few years my family and I have become targets of a relentless campaign by the present government and its investigating agencies who are trying to silence our voices of dissent by foisting one fake case after another. Such targeted intimidation of a member of the House amounts to a breach of privilege," Chidambaram wrote to Speaker Om Birla.

He further wrote, "The Central Bureau of Investigation in the garb of conducting an investigation into an 11 year old decision of the Government of India in which I have absolutely no involvement raided my residence in Delhi. In the course of this so-called raid, certain officers of the CBI seized my highly confidential and sensitive personal notes and papers pertaining to the parliamentary standing committee for information and technology of which I am a member." The Congress MP wrote to the Lok Sabha Speaker, "Shockingly even my draft notes and questions which I had intended to ask witnesses summoned to the committee were also seized. Furthermore, my handwritten notes pertaining to the deposition made to the committee by witnesses were also seized for reasons best known to the agency."