Divesting CBI chief of powers a grave “violation” of Constitution

New Delhi: Stepping up its attack on the government for divesting CBI Director Alok Verma of his charge, the Congress on Thursday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the decision was a grave “violation” of Supreme Court orders and the Constitution.

Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, who is a member of the collegium to select the CBI chief along with Prime Minister and Chief Justice of India, wrote a letter to Modi in this regard apprising him of his party’s reservations that the CBI Director cannot be “removed” as he has a fixed tenure and to do so without approval of the committee which selected him was illegal. “The state of disarray and arbitrariness that has characterized the functioning of key institutions such as the CVC, the CBI and above all your own office is unprecedented in our nation’s history,” Kharge said in his letter. He said the actions taken in the early hours of October 24 in transferring the Director and his entire team, amounted to a “grave violation of the law, the Supreme Court’s clear directions on the subject and the constitution of India”. “It is of the utmost surprise that following their reported meeting with you, both the officers have been sent on leave,” the letter read. (IANS)