<p class="title">The DMK, Tamil Nadu’s principal Opposition party, on Wednesday opposed the appointment of Nageshwara Rao as interim chief of CBI claiming that he has a “questionable record” and asked the Narendra Modi government to reinstate Alok Verma to his earlier position.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In a statement, DMK President M K Stalin said by bringing in Rao, who is “a relatively junior officer”, as interim director at a time when important and sensitive cases are being investigated, the government has thus turned CBI into its “caged parrot.”</p>.<p class="bodytext">“The way this government has been abusing CBI and using it as a weapon against political rivals during elections while also destroying the autonomy of CBI preventing it from investigating major scams especially the Rafale deal, is totally unacceptable. I demand that the Modi government immediately revoke the order to replace Alok Verma as Director, CBI,” Stalin said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">About Rao, he said the interim CBI director is also one with a questionable record.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“While he was posted as deputy director of CBI in Chennai, he had gone and met deputy chief minister of Tamil Nadu, O Panneerselvam at the Secretariat at a time when serious and intensive investigations by CBI are underway against AIADMK minister C Vijayabhaskar in the guthka scam. It is also being reported that Alok Verma was contemplating ordering a probe against Nageshwara Rao as well,” Stalin said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He also termed sending Verma on leave as a “midnight coup” when legal proceedings have been initiated against the special director Asthana and a co-accused DSP in the case who has since been arrested and remanded to CBI custody.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“The BJP government’s decision shows anarchy in governance where they abruptly change the head of an autonomous institution, whose selection is approved by a Collegium that includes the Chief Justice of India and whose tenure is protected from any government action,” he said.</p>
<p class="title">The DMK, Tamil Nadu’s principal Opposition party, on Wednesday opposed the appointment of Nageshwara Rao as interim chief of CBI claiming that he has a “questionable record” and asked the Narendra Modi government to reinstate Alok Verma to his earlier position.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In a statement, DMK President M K Stalin said by bringing in Rao, who is “a relatively junior officer”, as interim director at a time when important and sensitive cases are being investigated, the government has thus turned CBI into its “caged parrot.”</p>.<p class="bodytext">“The way this government has been abusing CBI and using it as a weapon against political rivals during elections while also destroying the autonomy of CBI preventing it from investigating major scams especially the Rafale deal, is totally unacceptable. I demand that the Modi government immediately revoke the order to replace Alok Verma as Director, CBI,” Stalin said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">About Rao, he said the interim CBI director is also one with a questionable record.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“While he was posted as deputy director of CBI in Chennai, he had gone and met deputy chief minister of Tamil Nadu, O Panneerselvam at the Secretariat at a time when serious and intensive investigations by CBI are underway against AIADMK minister C Vijayabhaskar in the guthka scam. It is also being reported that Alok Verma was contemplating ordering a probe against Nageshwara Rao as well,” Stalin said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He also termed sending Verma on leave as a “midnight coup” when legal proceedings have been initiated against the special director Asthana and a co-accused DSP in the case who has since been arrested and remanded to CBI custody.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“The BJP government’s decision shows anarchy in governance where they abruptly change the head of an autonomous institution, whose selection is approved by a Collegium that includes the Chief Justice of India and whose tenure is protected from any government action,” he said.</p>