Congress leader Chavan questions removal of CBI director

Maharashtra Congress president Ashok Chavan Thursday wondered if IPS officer Alok Verma was shunted out as CBI director as he allegedly was going to probe the Rafale jet deal.

Chavan asked what was it that the Narendra Modi government was so afraid of and said the move to remove Verma from the top post raised several questions.

Verma was shunted out as the CBI chief after a marathon meeting of the high-powered selection committee led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi Thursday, said officials.

The committee comprised Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Justice A K Sikri, appointed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi as his nominee in the panel.

 

Verma, a 1979-batch AGMUT-cadre IPS officer, has been removed from the high-profile post on the charges of corruption and dereliction of duty, making him the first chief in the history of the central agency to face such an action, they said.

"Why is the government so afraid of the CBI? What was Verma going to enquire that we was removed by Modi? Was he removed as he was going to probe into the Rafale issue?" asked the former Maharashtra chief minister.

Meanwhile, addressing a public rally at Ramtek in Nagpur district as part of the Congress' Sangharsh Yatra, Chavan hit out at the BJP-led goverment in Maharashtra, calling it "bankrupt".

He said the Devendra Fadnavis government is making announcements without money in its pocket.

Chavan said the BJP is only engaging in political 'jumlas' (rhetoric) whereas the Congress governments in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan announced farm loan waivers immediately after taking charge last month.

In Maharashtra, it took the BJP government nearly three years to announce a farm loan waiver, the Lok Sabha MP from Nanded said.

"This government is a bankrupt government and does not have money in its pocket. The only thing they can do is make announcements," said Chavan.

He condemned police action against people who showed black flags to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Solapur Wednesday.

"We will not be scared by this and every Congress worker and leader will raise the issue of injustice meted out to the common man," Chavan maintained.