Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday (August 22) said that former Union minister P Chidambaram's arrest was "depressing" and alleged that the judiciary was not coming to the aid of a "crying" democratic system.

In her first reaction after Chidambaram's arrest on Wednesday (August 21) evening, Banerjee quoted Rabindranath Tagore and said the "message of justice is crying silently in isolation".

Also read: CBI bombards Chidambaram with these questions

"P Chidambaram is an economist, and a former home minister and finance minister. The manner in which he has been arrested is depressing. There are four pillars of democracy: Democratic institutions, Election Commission, Media and Judicial system. The democratic system of our country is crying, yet the judiciary is not coming to its aid," she said in a statement issued by the Trinamool Congress in Kolkata.

She also alleged that media outlets had become spokespersons of the ruling BJP.

Also read: Never met Peter, Indrani Mukherjea, says Karti Chidambaram

Chidambaram was arrested by the CBI on Wednesday (August 21) night from his residence from Delhi in connection with the INX Media corruption case.

The firm once promoted by Peter and Indrani, both in jail for murdering the latter's daughter Sheena Bora, had allegedly made payments to a firm linked to the former finance minister's son Karti, the CBI said in the FIR.

Chidambaram has vehemently denied the allegations, saying the payments were for consultancy and his son was in no way associated with that company.