New Delhi, January 10: Congress president Rahul Gandhi took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday over the removal of Alok Verma as CBI chief. He also accused the Prime Minister of corruption in the Rafale Deal, on his Twitter profile saying, "Fear is now rampaging through Mr Modi’s mind. He can’t sleep. He stole 30,000Cr from the IAF and gave it to Anil Ambani. Sacking the CBI Chief #AlokVerma twice in a row, clearly shows that he is now a prisoner of his own lies. Satyamev Jayate." Selection Panel Meet to Discuss Charges Against CBI Director Alok Verma Ends Inconclusively; Next Hearing Scheduled on January 10.

Rajasthan's Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot opined that there is something murky going on in the government which needs to be investigated.

"There is something murky going on which needs to be investigated, the Congress party has already objected to it. There is something very suspicious about all this," Pilot told ANI.

Speaking on the same lines, Congress leader Priyanka Chaturvedi alleged that the decision to oust Verma has bypassed constitutional norms. "Hurried decision shows desperation level to ensure he (Verma) gets out of the way as he was going to probe Rafale scam. In his dissent note, he (Kharge) has mentioned the loopholes in the manner in which constitutional norms were bypassed by the government," Chaturvedi claimed.

Earlier in the day, Verma was removed as CBI chief by the selection panel headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi which was held to discuss charges against the former chief of the country’s premier investigative agency. The other two members of the panel were Justice A.K. Sikri and Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge. The 1979-batch IPS officer has now been transferred as DG to Fire Services, Civil Defence, and Home Guards.

The panel discussed the Central Vigilance Commission’s (CVC) report on the bribery and graft charges against Verma. For the time being, CBI Additional Director, M. Nageshwar Rao will look after the duties of the Director, CBI. According to reports, Kharge opposed the removal of the former CBI director and demanded another chance for him.

Verma was removed as CBI chief just two days after he was reinstated by the Supreme Court. The top court set aside the Centre's decision to divest him of his powers, but restrained him from taking any major policy decision till the CVC probe into corruption charges against him is over.

(With inputs from ANI)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 11, 2019 12:27 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).