BJP stages nationwide protest against CBI
BJP stages nationwide protest against CBI
New Delhi: The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) staged nationwide protests on Wednesday against the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), saying the agency had become a political tool of the ruling Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
In New Delhi, BJP leaders and activists courted arrest and made a representation to President Pratibha Patil alleging that the country’s premier investigating agency had become politicized.
BJP general secretary Thawarchand Gehlot alleged that the government had used files prepared by the CBI against some opposition political leaders to force them not to back a pair of cut motions brought in Parliament against some budget proposals. The motions failed to go through.
The CBI recently arrested some senior police officers in BJP-ruled Gujarat in connection with the alleged murder of a suspect in a fake encounter. Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi met party leaders to complain against the central agency.
The ruling Congress rejected the BJP’s charge, with Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari saying the opposition party’s anti-CBI protests were a reflection of its fear that an investigation ordered by the Supreme Court into the 2002 Gujarat riots would expose the “real conspirators" behind the violence.
santosh.j@livemint.com
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