New Delhi: On Tuesday, Congress party welcomed the Supreme Court order to reinstate Alok Verma as the Director of Central Bureau of Investigation. It said that the order will be a 'lesson for the government'. It also said that Narendra Modi has become the first Prime Minister to have his illegal orders set aside by the apex court.
“We welcome the Supreme Court's verdict lambasting the government against their illegal removal of Alok Verma as CBI Director”, Congress said in their official twitter handle.
The court on Tuesday reinstated Mr Verma as director of the premier investigation agency, however asking him to stay away from taking major policy decisions until a final decision is made by the statutory committee in a week.
The government had sent Mr Verma and his deputy Rakesh Asthana on leave in October in a decision taken at midnight citing clash between them, causing an uproar within the opposition parties alleging it to be the government's move to stop Mr Verma from initiating an inquiry on Rafale fighter jet deal.
Congress Lok Sabha leader Mallikarjun Kharge responded to the order saying, “It is a lesson for the government. We are not against one individual. But today you will use these agencies to pressure people, tomorrow somebody else will. What will happen to democracy then?”
Harshly criticising the Modi government, Congress communication in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala said 'MODI means Muzzling of Democratic Institutions'.
The Congress spokesperson also said, “Another big question for Modi. After making CBI Chief suffer the consequences of your illegal decision for three months, will you show the courage to return three months of lost tenure? Unless you are afraid of investigation into Rafale scam”, he said.