Fear Rampaging Through Modi’s Mind: Rahul Gandhi On Verma’s Ouster

Cong President Rahul Gandhi also said that the sacking of Verma showed that the PM was a “prisoner of his own lies”.

File photo of Congress President Rahul Gandhi.

(Photo: PTI)

Congress President Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over CBI Director Alok Verma’s removal and said that the second-time sacking of Verma showed that the prime minister was a “prisoner of his own lies”.

He also termed Verma’s sacking as a sign of “fear rampaging through Mr Modi’s mind”.

On Thursday evening, 10 January, the PM Modi-led committee, which included Justice AK Sikri and leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Kharge, removed Verma as the CBI director, just a day after Verma was reinstated by the Supreme Court.

Soon after the decision, Congress tweeted saying that the decision shows that the prime minister is afraid of investigation.

Miscarriage of Justice: Anand Sharma

Congress termed the government’s action as a “gross miscarriage of justice” and alleged that the prime minister was trying to protect his and his government's “wrong-doings” by appointing a “pliable officer”.

Congress senior spokesperson Anand Sharma alleged that the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) “had lost credibility and was compromised”.

Alleging that the present CVC had no authority to form a panel of officers as mandated under the law, Sharma said it was acting at the behest of the Prime Minister's office.

He also demanded an independent probe monitored by the Supreme Court into the events of the night of 23-24 October when Verma was removed as CBI Director in a ‘midnight operation’.

“It is not only a gross miscarriage of justice, it’s a travesty... that we have a situation where even the basic tenets of natural justice have been thrown to the winds by none other than the committee chaired by the PM.”

Anand Sharma, Congress senior spokesperson

He alleged that the prime minister was stopping the CBI from investigating himself and his ministers, an obvious reference to the alleged corruption in the Rafale aircraft deal.

Senior party leader Ajay Maken also tweeted on similar lines.

“Alok Verma removed as CBI Boss? So scared is the Union Government from any Rafale investigation? This is unprecedented and should be condemned by all!” he said on the micro-blogging site.

Speaking to the media, party leader Veerappa Moily said the decision is reflective of the government’s revengeful and majoritarian politics of the BJP.