Kharge demands answers from PM on action against Verma
New Delhi, Oct 25: Leader of the Congress party in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge has demanded answers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the action against CBI director Alok Verma without consulting other members of the panel that selected him.
In a strongly-worded letter to the prime minister, Kharge accused him of acting "arbitrarily" and creating a "false equivalence of charges" between the CBI director and his deputy Rakesh Asthana.
Kharge was part of a three-member panel headed by Modi that had selected Verma last year to head the CBI. The then Chief Justice of India Jagdish Singh Khehar was the other member of the selection committee.
He said that "no meeting of the selection committee was convened to deliberate on this issue as prescribed under law".
The Congress leader also accused Modi and his government of resorting to "snooping" on Verma to "cover-up" the Rafale 'scam'.
A row erupted as four Intelligence Bureau personnel were "picked up" by police on Thursday after they were found outside Verma's official residence.
The government did not respond to the snooping charges.
Kharge also alleged that while prime ministerial legacies are built by strengthening institutions, Modi's term will be remembered for the opposite.
"One must answer publicly as to what are the reasons behind this snooping? Is the PM trying to scare the dissenting voice of an officer and giving message of similar consequences to others? Or is the PMO scuttling the probe with the sole aim of preventing the truth of the reported corruption in the Rafale fighter jets purchase.
"Sir, prime ministerial legacies are built by strengthening institutions. Your term, it seems more and more likely will be remembered for the opposite," he wrote in letter.
The Congress leader also said that in a country where official conduct is supposed to be above suspicions, "we are witnessing an embarrassing breakdown in the working of premier institutions".
He further alleged that there was a "pretence" to protect certain people and exclude others in an attempt to control the CBI, in violation of Supreme Court guidelines and the CBI Act.
"I am constrained to write this letter in light of the distressing events that have taken place over the last couple of days.
"The state of disarray and arbitrariness that has characterised the functioning of key institutions such as the Central Vigilance Commission, the Central Bureau of Investigation and above all, your own office is unprecedented in our nation's history," he said.
"The actions taken in early hours of the morning of October 24, 2018, in transferring the director and his entire team, amount to a grave violation of the law, the Supreme Court's clear directions on the subject and the Constitution of India," he also said.
These events are a poor reflection on your promised style of "minimum government, maximum governance", he told the prime minister, adding that the latest development was extremely "worrying and alarming".
"The whole country watched on TV today while snooping and keeping surveillance on opposition and political opponents have been very basic nature of this government, but to meddle so blatantly in an ongoing explosive investigation will further erode the sanctity and trust that our police force and its officers have earned over the past 70 years," the letter said.
"Lastly, it would be a ridiculous misinterpretation of the law if the government admits that it cannot appoint, remove or transfer the Director, yet can ask him to sit at home and appoint someone else in his stead," Kharge said in his letter.
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Himanta resigns as Assam CM, paving way for formation of new govt
Guwahati (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday resigned along with his cabinet colleagues, paving the way for formation of a new government led by the BJP, officials said.
The BJP-led NDA bagged 102 seats in the 126-member assembly. The assembly elections were held in a single phase on April 9, and counting of votes took place on May 4.
"Following the formal notification of the results of #AssamElections2026 and to enable the formation of the new government, Dr @himantabiswa tendered his resignation as Chief Minister along with that of the council of Ministers to Hon'ble Governor Shri @Laxmanacharya54 today at Lok Bhawan," the Chief Minister's Office said in a post on X.
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The Governor has accepted the resignation, and requested Sarma to continue as the caretaker CM till the new government assumes office, it said.
Later, speaking to reporters outside the Lok Bhawan, Sarma said the oath-taking ceremony is likely to take place after May 11.
“As it was a historic win, we have invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to grace the occasion," he said.
The new Assam chief minister will be selected at a meeting of the BJP legislature party in presence of central observers, Sarma said.
