Former Union finance minister P Chidambaram, who is in Tihar jail since September 5 after being arrested in connection with the INX media case, on Tuesday said that he was ‘pleasantly surprised’ to receive birthday greetings from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The letter written by PM Modi was sent to Congress leader’s village address and was later forwarded to him.
“I have asked my family to tweet on my behalf the following: Dear Mr. Prime Minister Modi @narendramodi @PMOIndia, Pleasantly surprised to receive your greetings on my birthday (sent to my village address and forwarded to me) (sic),” he tweeted with a photo of the letter.
I have asked my family to tweet on my behalf the following:
Dear Mr. Prime Minister Modi @narendramodi @PMOIndia,
Pleasantly surprised to receive your greetings on my birthday (sent to my village address and forwarded to me) pic.twitter.com/kN381qpFyV— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) September 24, 2019
In the short letter written in Tamil, PM Modi greeted Chidambaram on his birthday on September 16 and wished that he continues to serve the people.
Chidambaram said that "as you have wished, I want to continue to serve the people".
"Unfortunately, your investigating agencies have prevented me from doing so. Once the present harassment ends, I shall be back among the people that both you and I are committed to serve," Chidambaram tweeted.
Earlier on Monday, former prime minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi met Chidambaram at Tihar Jail, and expressed concern over his continued detention in custody.
Singh said he hoped the courts would render justice in Chidambaram's case.
Chidambaram, a former Union finance minister, was arrested on August 21 by the CBI for alleged corruption in the grant of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance in the INX Media case.
He was later remanded in judicial custody and sent to Tihar Jail on September 5.