Opposition parties on Wednesday accused the government of “violating all norms” by removing Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director, Alok Verma, who was locked in a bitter feud with his deputy, Rakesh Asthana, who too was forced to step aside.
Congress president, Rahul Gandhi, alleged that Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, was “trying to stop” the agency from probing alleged irregularities in a deal to purchase Rafale fighter jets from French military planemaker, Dassault Aviation.
The principal opposition party also claimed that the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC), which has been invoked by the government, has no power to order the removal, appointment or reappointment of the CBI chief, as it is a supervisory body. In a pre-dawn order after the bitter public feud between Verma and Asthana reached the courts on Tuesday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government divested both of all authority.
Gandhi claimed that the Prime Minister “broke the law” and “bypassed” the Chief Justice of India and the Leader of Opposition, who were part of the panel that selected the CBI chief.
The Congress president mocked the Prime Minister while addressing an election meeting at Jhalawar in Rajasthan. “Do you know what the chowkidar (watchman) did at night? The chowkidar removed the CBI director because CBI was raising questions on Rafale deal. CBI director had called for papers on Rafale deal,” he claimed.
{{/usCountry}}The Congress president mocked the Prime Minister while addressing an election meeting at Jhalawar in Rajasthan. “Do you know what the chowkidar (watchman) did at night? The chowkidar removed the CBI director because CBI was raising questions on Rafale deal. CBI director had called for papers on Rafale deal,” he claimed.
{{/usCountry}}In a series of tweets, Gandhi alleged that Verma was “forcibly sent on leave” as he was collecting documents relating to what he called the Rafale “scam”. “The Prime Minister’s message is very clear that whoever comes near Rafale will be removed, wiped out. The country and the Constitution are in danger.”
Congress’ chief spokesperson, Randeep Singh Surjewala, asked whether the CBI director was “sacked for his keenness to probe the layers of corruption in Rafale scam”.
Another party spokesperson, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, told a news conference that the government’s decision of stripping Verma of his responsibilities was in violation of the Lokpal Act and the Supreme Court judgment in the 1997 Vineet Narain case that freed the CBI from direct government control and sought to protect senior CBI officers from arbitrary transfers.
He said the CVC had no powers to either recommend Verma’s removal or the appointment of a new director.
“The CBI director’s tenure as per the 1997 verdict is regardless of the date of his superannuation. The court also ruled that the CBI director could be transferred only under extraordinary circumstances and the transfer needs to be approved by the selection committee, none of which have been done,” he said .
“This is a sordid story and the sorry state of affairs where the government is abusing and misusing central agencies and institutions...,” he added.
Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor, Arvind Kejriwal, said: “What are the reasons for sending CBI director on leave? Under which law did the Modi government get the authority to initiate action against the chief of an investigating agency appointed as per the Lokpal Act? What is the Modi government trying to hide?”
Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary, Sitaram Yechury, said: “To ensure that the CBI is not a caged parrot, the Supreme Court had granted protection to its chief from government’s whims and fancies by giving him two-year tenure.”
“What is the Modi government trying to hide by its panicked move?” Yechury asked. “The CBI should be renamed as BJP Bureau of Investigation,” said West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress chief, Mamata Banerjee.