Congress-led opposition assembled outside the CBI headquarters on Friday to protest against the October 24 CBI shake-up even as the Supreme Court heard pleas of agency top bosses against their recent removal by the Government.
#WATCH Congress President Rahul Gandhi and Ashok Gehlot lead the protest march to CBI HQ against the removal of CBI Chief Alok Verma. pic.twitter.com/7FNkhoWQCb
— ANI (@ANI) October 26, 2018
Top Congress brass marched from Dyal Singh College to the CBI headquarters here to agitate against the decision of the PMO to send CBI chief Alok Verma on leave pending an inquiry by the CVC.
The Government acted on the CVC recommendation in the matter. The CPI also joined the protests with Congress chief Rahul Gandhi leading it.
The Congress has accused the PM of removing the CBI chief to scuttle a potential Rafale scam probe by the agency and says the Government has no legal powers to send the CBI boss on leave.
The opposition is basing its argument on the Delhi Special Police Establishments Act, 1946, which was amended in 2014 and which says that the CBI chief shall be appointed by the selection committee consisting of the PM, leader of opposition and the CJI.
Gandhi said only the selection committee could touch the director and the Government could not remove or send the CBI chief on an indefinite leave on its own.
The opposition is also asking the PM what the urgency of packing up Verma at 2 am on October 24 was. “This has never happened in India. You send a CBI chief on leave in the early hours and then seal his office. Why?” asked Congress leader Anand Sharma.
Congress leader in the selection panel of CBI chief Mallikarjun Kharge said the Government had violated not just the statute but also the SC judgment of 1997 in the Vineet Narain case where the top court had ruled that the CBI chief must get a fixed two-year tenure to preserve the institution’s integrity.
The judgment says notwithstanding the age of superannuation of the CBI chief he will remain in the job for two years. The judgment also says that the selection committee will be kept in the loop even in matters of transfer of the CBI chief.
The Congress is holding a protest across India in the state capitals against the CBI changes and alleging that the PM is corrupt and acted in order to stop a probe into the Rafale scam.
Present at the Delhi protest on Friday were CPI leader D Raja, senior opposition leader Sharad Yadav and Congress veterans Ashwani Kumar, Kumari Selja and Pramod Tewari.
Former law minister Kumar had to resign from the post after reports that he had vetted a CBI affidavit in the coal scam matter the SC was hearing.
Later, the TMC also joined the protest march.
