CBI vs CBI Row: Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge Moves SC to Challenge Alok Verma's 'Forced Leave'
Senior Congress leader and Leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday moved the Supreme Court challenging the Central Vigilance Committee's (CVC) decision to send Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chief Alok Verma on leave.
New Delhi, November 3: Senior Congress leader and Member of Parliament Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday moved the Supreme Court challenging the Central Vigilance Committee's (CVC) decision to send Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chief Alok Verma on leave. Kharge in his petition said that the act was, 'completely illegal, arbitrary, punitive, without jurisdiction'. In the petition, he also stated that hat neither the Central Vigilance Commission nor the government could curtain Verma’s tenure.
Earlier, the Congress alleged that the Narendra Modi had removed Verma from the post as he wanted to investigate the Rafale fighter jet deal. Yesterday, Congress president, Rahul Gandhi while addressing the media in Delhi on the Rafale issue said it was simply a PM Narendra Modi-Anil Ambani partnership. Gandhi stated, “If an inquiry starts on this Mr Narendra Modi is not going to survive it. Guaranteed. One, because of corruption. Two, because it's very clear who the decision maker was...It was Narendra Modi & it was a deal done by Narendra Modi to give Anil Ambani Rs 30,000 crore.”
Meanwhile, the apex court has set a two-week deadline for the CVC to complete the inquiry against Verma. The inquiry has been ordered under the supervision of a retired apex court judge. Meanwhile, 1986 -batch IPS officer Nageshwar Rao was also given an interim charge of the agency.
On October 15, the CBI registered an FIR against Rakesh Asthana for allegedly accepting bribes to settle a case involving meat exporter Moin Qureshi, who is facing multiple cases of money laundering and corruption. However, Asthana had also filed a complaint against the CBI Director accusing him of interfering in the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation corruption case involving family members of RJD leader Lalu Prasad.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 03, 2018 03:03 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).