Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday attacked the central government after the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax department conducted raids at the firms of his son Karti Chidambaram, concerning the 2G scam. The former home minister said that “if the government wants to target me, it should do so directly”. He said in a statement, “My family and I are quite prepared to face the malicious onslaught launched by the government.”

The raids were conducted by the agencies on Vasan Eye Care and Advantage Strategic. In August, two directors of Advantage Strategic had been summoned by the ED in connection with the Aircel-Maxis merger deal and charges of money laundering, reported NDTV. The report added that there was allegedly a financial transaction of more than Rs 200 crore between the two companies and Aircel-Maxis just before clearance came from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board for the merger.

The Aircel-Maxis deal came under the scanner in May 2011 after Aircel owner C Sivasankaran lodged a complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation alleging that he was pressurised to sell his stake to Maxis. The matter is under trial in the Supreme Court as part of the 2G scam case.