NATIONAL,MUMBAI, 23 SEPTEMBER, 2019 (GPN) : Former prime minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi visited Delhi’s Tihar jail today to meet former union minister P Chidambaram, who has been in prison since September 5 in connection with a corruption investigation.

The gesture by two of the Congress’s top leaders signaled the party’s stand that it would back its leaders all the way against what it calls politically-driven targeting.

Chidambaram appreciated the visit in his tweets. “I am honoured that Sonia Gandhi and Dr. Manmohan Singh called on me today. As long as the party is strong and brave, I will also be strong and brave,” his family tweeted on his behalf.

Chidambaram is accused of facilitating in 2007, as the country’s finance minister, a huge infusion of foreign funds into the company INX Media. His son Karti Chidambaram is accused of receiving kickbacks for facilitating the process.

The Chidambarams were named by INX co-founders Peter and Indrani Mukerjea, who are in jail in Mumbai in connection with the murder of Indrani’s daughter Sheena Bora.

Chidambaram, who celebrated his 74th birthday on Monday is in good health as he kept his Twitter timeline active from jail, targeting the government on various subjects including the economy.

Chidambaram picked on PM Modi’s comment, “If you ask me ‘Howdy, Modi’, I’ll say – Bharat mein sab achha hai (everything is great in India)”.”

The former Union Minister responded: “Bharat mai sab achha hai. Except for unemployment, loss of existing jobs, lower wages, mob violence, lockdown in Kashmir and throwing Opposition leaders in prison.”

On Thursday a Delhi court was told Mr Chidambaram had neither a pillow nor a chair in his cell, because of which he had “developed back pain”. The court refused to be swayed by the claim, which the government dismissed as a “small issue” and extended his custody to October 3. The senior Congress leader will have spent nearly a month in jail by than.

P Chidambaram is imprisoned in Jail No 7 comprising mainly few tightly-packed wards and a couple of cells. As per jail manual, inmates sleep on the floor, but senior citizens are provided a ‘wooden takht’ without a mattress. Sources said after a medical test, the 73-year-old Chidambaram would be provided a ‘takht’ to sleep. A provision for a western toilet will also be made in the cell.

A prison official said food is usually served to the inmates between 7 pm and 8 pm but it is kept aside for those who arrive late due to court procedures. The food (lunch and dinner) includes a bowl of dal, a dish of vegetables, and four to five chapattis. In case Chidambaram, reportedly fond of south Indian meals, does not eat food prepared in the jail, he reserves the right to order snacks cooked in the jail canteen. The prison can provide extra facilities if the accused procures any court order in his favour.

Chidambaram will be lodged in the cell from 9 pm to 6 am. Breakfast will be served between 7 am and 8 am, the official added.

Officials said he can either drink water from a reverse ssmosis plant or purchase packaged bottle from the canteen. “He will also have access to the prison’s library and also watch television, just like a normal inmate,” the official added.

Those undergoing trials can be provided clothes by their family.

In case intelligence reports suggest a high threat perception for India’s former Home Minister who took several initiatives after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, Chidambaram could be shifted to Jail No 1, which has an increased deployment of Tamil Nadu Special Police, guarding the outer periphery of security layer in Tihar for the last three decades.

“Top builders of Delhi NCR and 2G spectrum scam accused are lodged in Jail No 1. Sahara supremo Subrato Roy and former chairman of Commonwealth Games (2010) Organising Committee, Suresh Kalmadi, was also lodged in the same jail,” said a source. ENDS