The Congress Party yesterday launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of “a desperate cover-up attempt” over the Rafale jet deal and pushing the country’s premier investigative agency into complete disarray.
Party spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala said: “A scared and panic-stricken PMO forced the CBI director to go on leave at 2am and transferred a dozen officers, to frantically bury the corruption track. This is the infamous ‘Modi Made Gujarat Model’ for cloak-and-dagger mugging of CBI to stifle, subjugate and suppress India’s premier investigative agency.”
He was referring to the government’s decision to send Central Bureau of Investigation Director Alok Verma and his deputy Rakesh Asthana on leave.
Surjewala said that the judiciary, the Central Vigilance Commission, the National Investigation Agency, Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax, Central Board of Direct Taxes or Serious Frausd Investigation Office – the Modi government has undermined each institution and surreptitiously infiltrated his ‘yes men’.
“But facts have a habit to cut through the fog. The only fact is that PM Modi is petrified that the No 1 in the CBI was about to take steps that might have hurt him in the Rafale scam,” Surjewala said.
Questioning the need to remove the CBI chief in a “tearing hurry” without the approval of the Selection Committee and by violating the Supreme Court judgment, Surjewala demanded: “Why was an interim (CBI) chief appointed at 2am? Does it not tantamount to complete trashing of constitutional norms?”
The Congress leader also charged Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Law Minister Ravishankar Prasad with attempting to cover up the entire issue that has shaken the political establishment.
“The No 2 in the CBI is clearly an accused, this ‘Godhra-SIT fame’ and ‘Vijay Mallya hand-shake famed’ person is the only accused in this case. The No 1 was probing the allegations against the No 2. Now, No 2 wakes up and makes counter-allegations in cahoots with the Modi government and CVC,” Surjewala said.
“Will the self-professed legal eagles – Arun Jaitley and Ravi Shankar Prasad – give an apology of a weak defence of cleaning the system to justify the PM’s panic reaction on Rafale Scam?” he asked.
The Congress spokesman was accompanied by Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam and other senior leaders during the media briefing.
Earlier in the day, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said Modi shunted out the CBI director because he was “pointing fingers” at the controversial Rafale deal.
“Do you know what the ‘chowkidar’ did last night? He (Modi) removed the CBI director because he had called for the files of Rafale deal,” Gandhi said in Jhalawar, Rajasthan, the home turf of Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.