This is Congress party's Nawaz Sharif moment: BJP on allegations against Chidambaram family

The Defence Minister was referring to the Pakistan Supreme Court's decision disqualifying its former Prime Minister from holding office because of non-disclosure of assets and income earned abroad.

Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman speaks during the press conference at BJP Headquarters in New Delhi on Sunday. | PTI

NEW DELHI: The BJP today took a dig at the Congress over charge sheets filed against former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram's family, with party leader Nirmala Sitharaman wondering if this was the Congress party's "Nawaz Sharif moment".

The Defence Minister was referring to the Pakistan Supreme Court's decision disqualifying its former Prime Minister from holding office because of non-disclosure of assets and income earned abroad.

"The parallels cannot be missed out in this case. I am wondering if for Congress party in India, we are seeing the Nawaz Sharif moment," she told reporters here.

The Income Tax department on May 11 filed charge sheets against Chidambaram's wife Nalini, son Karti, daughter-in-law Srinidhi and a firm under the Black Money Act for allegedly not disclosing their foreign assets.

Sitharaman asked if Congress president Rahul Gandhi would investigate the issue involving his party's senior leader.

"The Congress party president, incidentally who is also out on bail on some financial transactions which are questionable, should certainly comment and tell the entire party and people of India whether he is going to investigate this," she said.

She pointed out that the Pakistan Supreme Court had disqualified Sharif from holding office because of not disclosing assets held in foreign countries.

Sitharaman said the law on black money was brought in by the Modi government because it had pledged to fight black money held in India and abroad before the last Lok Sabha elections.

The charge sheets or prosecution complaints have been filed by the IT department before a special court in Chennai under Section 50 of the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, officials had said.

Nalini Chidambaram, Karti and Srinidhi and a firm linked to Karti have been accused of not disclosing, either partly or fully, immovable assets such as one at Barton, Cambridge, UK, worth Rs 5.37 crore, property worth Rs 80 lakh in the same country and assets worth Rs 3.28 crore in the US.

The family of the former finance minister had said the Income Tax Department (ITD) charge sheets against them under the black money law were "baseless allegations" as the overseas investments under question had been reflected in their IT returns.