Sonia Gandhi meets Shivakumar at the Tihar Jail, extends party support

Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday met party leader DK Shivakumar at the Tihar Jail here.

Shivakumar is currently lodged in the jail under judicial custody in alleged connection with a money laundering case.

Gandhi was joined by party leader Ambika Soni.

DK Suresh, Congress MP and brother of Shivakumar, told ANI that Gandhi told DK Shivakumar that the whole party is with him. "This is a political case and other such leaders are also being targeted. We have to overcome this," he said.

On Monday, former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy met Shivakumar at the Tihar Jail.

Shivakumar was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate last month. The money laundering case was registered by the ED against him in September last year, based on a complaint filed by the Income Tax (IT) department.

The IT department, during the initial probe, had allegedly found unaccounted and misreported wealth linked to Shivakumar.

Earlier, Gandhi met Chidambaram at the Tihar Jail. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was also present at that meeting. According to party sources, the top leadership in the party wants to send out a message to party leaders and the cadre that they stand by them in the current situation and it is 'political vendetta'.