MH-ASHOK CHAVAN-VERMA

Maharashtra Congress

president Ashok Chavan Thursday wondered if IPS officer Alok

Verma was shunted out as CBI director as he allegedly was

going to probe the Rafale jet deal.

Chavan asked what was it that the Narendra Modi

government was so afraid of and said the move to remove Verma

from the top post raised several questions.

Verma was shunted out as the CBI chief after a

marathon meeting of the high-powered selection committee led

by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi Thursday, said

officials.

The committee comprised Leader of the Congress in the

Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Justice A K Sikri, appointed

by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi as his nominee in the

panel.

Verma, a 1979-batch AGMUT-cadre IPS officer, has been

removed from the high-profile post on the charges of

corruption and dereliction of duty, making him the first chief

in the history of the central agency to face such an action,

they said.

"Why is the government so afraid of the CBI? What was

Verma going to enquire that we was removed by Modi? Was he

removed as he was going to probe into the Rafale issue?" asked

the former Maharashtra chief minister.

Meanwhile, addressing a public rally at Ramtek in

Nagpur district as part of the Congress' Sangharsh Yatra,

Chavan hit out at the BJP-led goverment in Maharashtra,

calling it "bankrupt".

He said the Devendra Fadnavis government is making

announcements without money in its pocket.

Chavan said the BJP is only engaging in political

`jumlas' (rhetoric) whereas the Congress governments in Madhya

Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan announced farm loan

waivers immediately after taking charge last month.

In Maharashtra, it took the BJP government nearly

three years to announce a farm loan waiver, the Lok Sabha MP

from Nanded said.

"This government is a bankrupt government and does not

have money in its pocket. The only thing they can do is make

announcements," said Chavan.

He condemned police action against people who showed

black flags to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit

to Solapur Wednesday.

"We will not be scared by this and every Congress

worker and leader will raise the issue of injustice meted out

to the common man," Chavan maintained.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)