People from Sivaganga feel their man Chidambaram got a raw deal

Madurai: The people of Sivaganga are more concerned for P Chidambaram as an individual rather than as their seven-time MP, and most of them consider his arrest a result of political vendetta.

While his supporters are angry and sad about his arrest, even those who are not his fans feel the former Union minister could’ve been treated with more dignity. S Ramachandran, a resident of Sivaganga, says Chidambaram did not do much for Sivaganga as its MP to generate jobs. “If he has done wrong he should be punished, but this treatment given to him is unfair,’’ he said.

A former employee of nationalised bank says Chidambaram was one of the least approachable MPs during his tenure. “There are many quotas on the railways and other facilities like dharshan priority at the Tirupati temple which we can access with an MP’s letter. This was never a possibility when Chidambaram was in office, for he was always aloof, and only very few local Congress leaders had access to him when he was Union finance minister,’’ he said, but added that the latter’s arrest was condemnable.

Karaikudi town Congress president Pandi Meiyappan is deeply troubled by the Congress leader’s arrest. “He was our untainted leader, and arresting him like a criminal is very unfair,” said Pandi who led about 300 Congress workers on a protest march in Karaikudi, before they were detained by police.

Sivaganga district secretary of the farm workers association R Maniamma said she did not know much about the case in which Chidambaram has been arrested. “He did not do much for us, but Wednesday’s arrest was not the way in which any leader should be treated,’’ she said. Maniamma said she saw people jumping over the wall before arresting him, and believes it was just done to damage Chidambaram’s image.

Kaliamma of Okkur in Sivaganga says that she had always voted for Chidambaram when he contested elections, and this year for his son. “It has nothing to do with Chidambaram, but our family has been Congress sympathisers for 80-odd years. It is disheartening to see a Congress leader being treated like a thief or criminal,’’ she said.

In his native place Kandanur, many are sad. M Ganesh says he does not want to comment whether Chidambaram is innocent or not. “That should be investigated. But trying to spoil his image through a dramatic night arrest and making it look as though he was in hiding was wrong,” he said.