The government, however, said the selection of the 1974-batch IPS officer has been done in a "fair manner" following the "due process" and that the Prime Minister has got the authority to decide on one name, hours after BJP voiced its "strong disappointment" and "disapproval".
Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, Leaders of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha respectively, in a joint letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the decision should be kept in abeyance till the collegium system becomes a law as recommended by Rajya Sabha Select Committee on Lokpal. The Committee submitted its report today.
"This is a matter on record that hours before this recommendation (of the Select Committee) was tabled on the floor of the Rajya Sabha, the Government has chosen to appoint a CBI Director for a period of two years... We must record our strong disappointment and disapproval of this act of the government," the letter said.
The appointment of Sinha, who will succeed A P Singh on November 30, was made yesterday. He is currently Director General of Indo-Tibetan Border Police(ITBP).
BJP said the manner in which the government has made this appointment ahead of the tabling of this recommendation in Rajya Sabha, leads one to conclude that the government wanted to pre-empt the possibility of this recommendation at least in the case of Sinha's appointment.
"We would request you to revisit this matter and keep this appointment in abeyance till such time this recommendation becomes a law of the land. Hopefully this can happen in the next few days," Swaraj and Jaitley said.
Speaking on the sidelines of a CBI function, Minister of state for Personnel V Narayanasamy said Sinha was the senior most officer among the three names suggested by the Central Vigilance Commissioner and Prime Minister decided his name.
Union Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal said, "The government decision-making cannot stop just because there is some legislation awaited...I do not see any logic in this." (MORE)
