Congress chief Rahul Gandhi addressed the media on Thursday. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi addressed the media on Thursday.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi was detained on Friday after staging a protest outside the CBI headquarters against the move to divest CBI Director Alok Verma of his powers, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi “stole” money from the country and can run but not hide from the truth. The Congress chief along with other party leaders were inside the Lodhi Colony police station for around 30 minutes.

“He has stolen money from the Indian Air Force and the youth, and the entire country understands this. The prime minister can run but he cannot hide from the truth,” Gandhi told reporters after courting arrest at the Lodhi Colony police station. “The truth will come out,” Gandhi said, adding that removing the CBI director will not impact the truth.

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Gandhi has been on the forefront in attacking the ruling government ever since the top functionaries of the CBI, Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana, were sent on leave Tuesday midnight by the Centre. M Nageswara Rao was appointed as the interim director. The Congress chief alleged Centre’s decision to remove top functionaries of the investigative agency as a “panic reaction” to CBI inquiry into the Rafale fighter jet deal and claimed that PM Modi was aware the inquiry would “finish” him.

After being divested of their powers, Verma and Asthana moved the Supreme Court challenging the Centre’s decision, which on Friday directed the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) to conclude its probe, headed by retired Supreme Court judge A K Patnaik, in the case within two weeks.

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On Thursday, Gandhi in a presser had called Centre’s move as “illegal” and “criminal”. “The charge has been given to an individual who has cases against him…so that the Prime Minister can control him. The PM has made a corrupt officer charge (of CBI) so that an inquiry into Rafale does not take place,” he alleged.

Meanwhile, in a counter-attack to Gandhi, BJP accused the Congress president of manufacturing lies on the issue every day and the Gandhi scion is hallucinating because his party has lost relevance.

Union Minister for HRD Prakash Javadekar described Gandhi’s allegations as “falsehoods”, saying that Verma was not removed but was sent on leave and that there is no inquiry on Rafale deal. “There is no case of inquiry on Rafale. He (Gandhi) says that papers were taken from his office. This is utterly fallacious, malicious and a manufactured lie,” said Javedkar.

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Referring prime minister as “Chowkidaar (watchman)”, Gandhi had also addressed a rally in Jhalawar on Wednesday, where he reiterated his allegations in the Rafale deal and said, “Kal raat ko pata hai chowkidaar ne kya kiya? CBI ka director Rafale ke kagaz mangata hai (You know what happened last night? CBI director sought Rafale documents)… You must have heard the story of Rafale.”

Hours after Gandhi was detained by the Delhi Police, former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Friday criticised the BJP-led central government and stated that the environment in the country’s institutions like CBI is being vitiated, PTI quoted. Singh was speaking at the launch of Congress leader Shashi Tharoor’s book “The Paradoxical Prime Minister” in New Delhi.

Beside Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha and one of the three members of the committee that appoints the CBI chief, opposed Centre’s midnight move and wrote to Modi on Thursday saying the government’s move was “illegal” and “mala fide” as “no one — neither you nor the CVC — enjoys the requisite authority to interfere with the Terms of Service vested in the Director”. Read more| Supreme Court order a ‘slap in face of tyrants’, says Randeep Surjewala

Interestingly, Kharge had lodged his dissent over the appointment of Verma as CBI Director last year, stating that he had no experience in the CBI and anti-corruption cases.

The Congress had also raised its demand sacking the CVC and termed it as a “collaborator” in the government’s “illegal acts”.

With inputs from agencies

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