DMK opposes Nageshwara Rao’s appointment

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.

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.”

“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.

About Rao, he said the interim CBI director is also one with a questionable record.

“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.

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.

“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.