Home ministry recommends disciplinary action against former CBI director Alok Verma
New Delhi: The Union home ministry has recommended disciplinary action against former CBI director Alok Verma for allegedly misusing his official position and violating the relevant service rules, officials said on Wednesday.
They said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has written to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the nodal ministry for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), to take necessary disciplinary action against Verma.
The action, if approved, may include temporary or permanent forfeiture of Verma's pension and retirement benefits, the officials said.
During his stint in the CBI, Verma, a 1979-batch (retired) Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, was engaged in a bitter fight with Gujarat-cadre IPS officer and his deputy Rakesh Asthana over corruption charges.
Both Verma and Asthana had accused each other of corruption.
Asthana is the Delhi Police Commissioner now.
"Verma has been accused of misusing his official position and violating service rules. Necessary action has been recommended against him by the home ministry," a senior official said, requesting anonymity.
The home ministry is the cadre controlling authority for IPS officers.
The DoPT has forwarded the MHA's recommendation to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the recruitment body for IPS officers, the officials said.
The UPSC needs to be consulted before imposing penalty on IPS officers, they said.
Verma took over as the CBI chief on February 1, 2017 for a fixed two-year tenure.
However, he was removed from the post on January 10, 2019 and posted as the director general of Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guards -- a less significant portfolio.
Verma did not accept the offer and wrote to the government, saying he should be considered as deemed superannuated as he has completed 60 years age of superannuation on July 31, 2017.
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Trump says EU has until July 4 to approve last year's trade deal or it will face higher tariffs
Washington (AP): President Donald Trump has said in a social media post that goods from the European Union would face higher tariff rates if the 27-member bloc fails to approve last year's trade framework by July 4.
The announcement on Thursday appeared to be a deadline extension after the president said last Friday that EU autos would face a higher 25 per cent tariff starting this week. Trump made the updated announcement after what he described as a "great call" with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Still, the US president was displeased that the European Parliament had yet to finalize the trade arrangement reached last year, which was further complicated in February by the US Supreme Court ruling that Trump lacked the legal authority to declare an economic emergency to impose the initial tariffs used to pressure the EU into talks.
"A promise was made that the EU would deliver their side of the Deal and, as per Agreement, cut their Tariffs to ZERO!" Trump posted. "I agreed to give her until our Country's 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels."
It was unclear from the post whether Trump was implying that the tariff rates would jump on all EU goods or the increase would only apply to autos.
His latest statement indicates he might be backing away from his earlier threat on EU autos by giving the European Parliament several more weeks to approve the agreement.
Under the original terms of the framework, the US would charge a 15 per cent tax on most goods imported from the EU.
But since the Supreme Court ruling, the administration has levied a 10 per cent tariff while investigating trade imbalances and national security issues, aiming to put in new tariffs to make up for lost revenues.
