CPM demands CVC K V Chowdary's dismissal

The demand for removal of Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) K V Chowdary gained another supporter, the CPM.

The party has questioned Chowdary's role in the action taken against former CBI director Alok Verma.

In a statement, the CPM Polit Bureau said that the decision to remove Alok Verma as CBI director was an "arbitrary and shocking step", which was based on a CVC report that was "shown to be weak on substantive proof" about the allegations.

The CPM said that the CVC should be removed from office immediately and an enquiry ordered into the manner in which Chowdary dealt with Verma.

Also read: Congress demands CVC's ouster

On Sunday, the Congress had demanded the CVC's removal.

"The CVC report is based on the allegations made by CBI officer Rakesh Asthana. Asthana's plea before the Delhi High Court to vacate ongoing investigations on allegations against him has been rejected and the court has directed that the enquiry be conducted within a time-frame. Clearly, Rakesh Asthana has been found by the judiciary as facing prima facie charges," it said.

The CPM also referred to former Supreme Court judge Justice A K Patnaik's remarks about the report on the CVC probe, which he supervised on Supreme Court's instruction.

He has publicly stated that the CVC enquiry "found no evidence of corruption against Verma. Further he said that the findings of the CVC report are not his and, thus, distanced himself", he said.

"More revelations about the questionable role of Chowdary in advocating Asthana’s case with the then CBI director have also come into the public domain. All these facts show that the decision of the prime minister-led committee to remove Alok Verma, violating the principle of natural justice by denying him the right to defend himself, is biased and motivated," it said.

"All these also confirm the suspicion that the Modi government was in an utmost hurry to remove Alok Verma in order to prevent probes into serious cases of corruption involving the highest political leadership and the Central government. These include Rafale scam and many other corruption scandals," it said.