Chidambaram evading questions, CBI should take him into custody: Swamy

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Tuesday said that P. Chidambaram should be taken into custody by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), hours after the Delhi High Court extended the former finance minister's interim protection from arrest in the INX media case.

"Chidambaram is lying, and he has been evading answers. He is putting the blame on others things, like on FIPB clearances," Swamy said today.

"The High Court has given an order but it is a temporary one. At the end of it, CBI should take him into custody," the senior BJP leader said.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Delhi High Court extended former finance minister P Chidambaram's interim protection from arrest in the INX media case till August 1.

The Central Bureau of Investigation sought more time to file its response on P Chidambaram's anticipatory bail plea as they want to conduct custodial interrogation of accused.

On June 25, CBI had approached the Supreme Court against the bail granted to Karti Chidambaram by the Delhi High Court in the case. Karti, son of former Finance Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, is accused in the INX media money laundering case.

In March, the Delhi High Court granted bail to Karti in the case. Karti was arrested in February for his alleged role in facilitating Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance for INX Media Ltd and its directors, Peter and Indrani Mukerjea.

Karti allegedly took service charges for getting the clearance to INX Media for receiving funds from abroad worth Rs 305 crore in 2007 when his father P Chidambaram was the Union finance minister in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.