Ishrat Jahan case: Sonia backs Chidambaram even as BJP prepares to corner Cong in Parliament

Congress President Sonia Gandhi backed former home minister P Chidambaram amid the political storm raised by undersecretary RVS Mani's controversial revelations in the Ishrat Jahan case. While addressing her party MPs today, she said that Chidambaram has already explained his position in the case.

"Chidambaram ji has already explained. We have been targeted since we were in government," Gandhi said at a Congress' strategy meeting in New Delhi.

Congress leader Manish Tewari questioned the BJP government's 'interference' in a court monitored investigation. He told ANI: "The fundamental question is why is the highest echelon of the Indian government trying to subvert a court-monitored investigation into a fake encounter case? Do they want to help the accused be let off the hook or are the accused pressurising them?"

In a revelation that could disrupt the functioning of the Parliament, Ministry of Home Affairs, RVS Mani claimed yesterday that he was pressurised to file the second affidavit in the Supreme Court in which the reference to the LeT terror group naming Ishrat Jahan was dropped.

BJP MP Bhupender Yadav has submitted a calling attention notice in the Rajya Sabha on the Ishrat Jahan issue.

His claims came days after former home secretary GK Pillai alleged that Chidambaram bypassed him and rewrote the second affidavit submitted to a court in this connection.

Last week, Pillai had said that the affidavit in the Ishrat case was changed at the political level.

However, Chidambaram had clarified on 29 February that the revised affidavit was absolutely correct, adding that he accepts full responsibility for the affidavit as a minister.

Citing intelligence reports, Chidambaram had as the home minister submitted an affidavit in the Gujarat High Court in August 2009, which referred to Ishrat's alleged links with the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

However, a revised affidavit was filed within a month in which all references to Ishrat's alleged terror links were missing.

(With inputs from ANI)