CPI(M) asks Modi to quit after SC reinstates Verma

The CPI(M) demanded on Tuesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi quit on moral grounds as the Supreme Court's order reinstating CBI Director Alok Verma was a "direct indictment of Modi and his office".

"No other govt in independent India has tried to kill institutions the way (the) Modi govt has because it is scared of its massive corruption, cronyism and illegalities at the very top being caught out," tweeted CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

"This reinstatement of the CBI Director by the Supreme Court is a direct indictment of Modi and his office. Will he take responsibility for this blatantly illegal act? If he has any moral conscience he should quit. Accountability, anyone or is it just #jumlas?" Yechury asked.

The Communist Party of India (CPI), too, welcomed the verdict and demanded that Verma's tenure as the probe agency's director be extended. "His tenure should be extended (for) the days as long as he was sent on leave. I believe this a slap on the face of (the) Modi government and the central vigilance commissioner. Both of them should be held responsible for this," said CPI general secretary S Sudhakar Reddy.

"It was clear from the very beginning that they intervened on behalf of Mr Asthana to save his skin from the corruption charges," Reddy added.

Earlier in the day, the apex court reinstated Verma, setting aside the Centre's decision to divest him of his powers, but restrained him from taking any major policy decision till the CVC probe into the corruption charges against him was over.

It also said any further decision against Verma, who retires on January 31, would be taken by the high-powered committee that selects and appoints the CBI director.