Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh units of the Congress Friday held a protest near the CBI office here against the Centre's move to send agency director Alok Verma on leave after divesting him of powers and demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Police said roads leading to the investigative agency's office in Sector 30 were barricaded and the traffic was suspended for over an hour in view of the protest.
The police used water canons on the protestors but they continued to raise slogans against Modi and his government and later they dispersed from the site, they said.
Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar was leading the group of protesters which included several prominent party leaders, including ministers in the Amarinder Singh-led government.
Haryana CLP leader Kiran Choudhary and former railways minister Pawan Kumar Bansal were among the leaders from Haryana and Chandigarh participating in the agitation. Senior Congress leaders Asha Kumari and Harish Chaudhary also took part.
Several ministers from Punjab were present on the occasion, including Vijay Inder Singla, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, Sham Sunder Arora, besides Rana Gurjit Singh, Pargat Singh, Raj Kumar Verka, Vikram Chowdhary and Pradeep Chabbra.
The Congress leaders demanded an apology from the prime minister and alleged that the "illegal, unconstitutional and illegitimate" removal of the CBI director had shamed India and its premier investigative agency.
The protesters carried placards attacking the central government and the prime minister. Some of the signs said "stop interfering in CBI's functioning" and "respect the Constitution".
Jakhar alleged that the Modi government's actions showed its autocratic behaviour.
Pawan Kumar Bansal, a former MP from Chandigarh, claimed, "The Modi government did not seem happy when the CBI director worked as per his own independence and asserted himself."
"The Congress demands the government should accept its folly and act of malfeasance in removing the CBI director and refer the matter to the committee set up for the purpose in which the leader of opposition is a member," Bansal said.
Punjab Minister Vijay Inder Singla said Modi should apologise to the nation for the "unceremonial" removal of the CBI chief as it was constitutionally incorrect for the prime minister to remove him.
He said the agency director was appointed by a committee of chief justice of India, the leader of opposition and the PM.
"But the government took an unconstitutional and undemocratic step in removing him. When an inquiry regarding the Rafale deal was about to start, the PM removed the CBI director in the middle of night, which raises eyebrows," he said.
Kiran Chowdhary said that for the first time in Indian history, institutions which were built over the years were being demolished by this government.
"The BJP has politicised this august institution too If there was something against the CBI director, they could have called a meeting of the chief justice, leader of opposition and the PM.
"The government which makes the law breaks it, so what is left? What is dangerous for this country is that we are going towards a banana republic because pillars of democracy are being demolished," Chowdhary claimed.
The government Tuesday sent Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana, who accused each other of corruption, on leave.
It also transferred several CBI officials and appointed M Nageswar Rao as the interim chief of the agency.
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