Rahul Gandhi steps up attack: PM knew he would be finished if CBI begins probe into Rafale deal

CBI power shift: Rahul Gandhi said the decision to remove Alok Verma and appoint M Nageshwar Rao as CBI Interim Director was “illegal” and “criminal”.

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi with party leaders Ashok Gehlot and Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi Thursday. (Express Photo/Anil Sharma)

Stepping up his attack on the government over its decision to send CBI Director Alok Verma on administrative leave, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said that the move was a “panic reaction” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he knows that he would be “finished” if the CBI begins an inquiry into the Rafale fighter jet deal.

He said the decision to remove Verma and appoint M Nageshwar Rao as CBI Interim Director was “illegal” and “criminal”. Without naming Rao, Gandhi said, “The charge has been given to an individual who has cases against him…so that the Prime Minister can control him. The PM has made a corrupt officer in charge (of CBI) so that an inquiry into Rafale does not take place.”

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Gandhi will lead Congress protests outside the CBI headquarters in Delhi on Friday at 11 am. “Tomorrow, outside CBI offices nationwide, the Congress party will protest the PM’s disgraceful attempt to prevent an investigation into the Rafale scam, by removing the CBI Chief. I will lead the protests outside CBI HQ in Delhi, at 11 AM,” he tweeted.

Gandhi said the decision to divest Verma of all powers and send him on leave was an “insult to the Constitution….the Chief Justice of India, the Leader of Opposition and to the Indian people. It is illegal and criminal…because the CBI Director can be appointed and removed only by the selection committee comprising the Prime Minister, Chief Justice and the Leader of the Opposition.”

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“The main reason for this is that the CBI was going to begin an investigation into the role of the Prime Minister… and the corruption that was carried out by the Prime Minister in Rafale… It (Rafale) is an open and shut case. The moment an inquiry starts in CBI, the Prime Minister is finished. He is an experienced person. It was suicide for the Prime Minister to allow an inquiry in CBI… And to prevent suicide, he committed a murder. But he has not been murdered. Because there is a battle to reinstate him (Verma),” he said.

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