Congress President Rahul Gandhi Thursday alleged that the midnight removal of CBI Director Alok Verma was "illegal" and a "panic reaction" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stall investigation on "corruption" in the Rafale fighter jet deal.
Addressing a press conference, he said Verma's removal was an "insult" to not only the Constitution, but also to the Chief Justice of India and the leader of the Opposition, who along with the prime minister, as part of a panel have the powers to appoint or remove him.
While the Prime Minister's Office did not react, Union minister Prakash Javadekar said, "Rahul Gandhi is manufacturing lies every day on the Rafale jet deal."
Gandhi said, "It is illegal... It is criminal. It is an insult to the Constitution. It is an insult to the Chief Justice of India, the leader of the opposition. It is also an insult to the people of India."
On a query about the basis of his confidence on claims that the CBI was about to begin a Rafale probe he skirted the issue but claimed, "I know like everyone knows. Besides the question is not how I know this. The question is that the PM helped his friend Anil Ambani get Rs 30,000 crore in Rafale and that's corruption."
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