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Updated: Jan 11, 2019 07:59 IST

Congress president Rahul Gandhi continued to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the sacking of CBI chief Alok Verma and the Rafale row on Thursday, saying fear had gripped Modi and he couldn’t sleep.

“Fear is now rampaging through Mr Modi’s mind. He can’t sleep. Sacking the CBI Chief #AlokVerma twice in a row, clearly shows that he is now a prisoner of his own lies,” he said in a tweet, hours after a PM-led panel sacked Verma.

Fear is now rampaging through Mr Modi’s mind. He can’t sleep. He stole 30,000Cr from the IAF and gave it to Anil Ambani. Sacking the CBI Chief #AlokVerma twice in a row, clearly shows that he is now a prisoner of his own lies.



Satyamev Jayate. — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 10, 2019

Verma, who was sent on leave by the government in October, was reinstated by the Supreme Court on Tuesday, but with limited powers.

However, the PM-led selection committee, comprising Justice AK Sikri and Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, which was tasked by the SC to take a call on his future within a week, ordered his shunting out in two days.

In the meeting, Kharge opposed the order and gave a dissent note, news agency Press Trust of India said.

Congress soon targeted Modi for not giving Verma a chance to present his case and said the Prime Minister was “too afraid of an investigation” into the controversial Rafale deal.

By removing #AlokVerma from his position without giving him the chance to present his case, PM Modi has shown once again that he's too afraid of an investigation, either by an independent CBI director or by Parliament via JPC. — Congress (@INCIndia) January 10, 2019

Verma was removed from the high-profile post on charges of corruption and dereliction of duty. He was earlier sent on leave following an internal feud with his deputy Rakesh Asthana, as a fallout of which he was accused of corruption.

Earlier, Rahul Gandhi had taken a swipe at Modi over the Rafale deal, accusing him of being in a ‘tearing hurry to sack the CBI chief’.

“Why is the PM in such a tearing hurry to sack the CBI Chief? Why will he not allow the CBI Chief to present his case in front of the selection committee?” Gandhi tweeted.

The Congress president, who has led the opposition offensive against PM Modi over the Rafale deal, then went on to answer the questions himself. “Answer: RAFALE,” he tweeted.

1. Why is the PM in such a tearing hurry to sack the CBI Chief?



2. Why will he not allow the CBI Chief to present his case in front of the selection committee ?



Answer: RAFALE — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 10, 2019

In his speeches, Rahul Gandhi has suggested that PM Modi had attempted to remove Alok Verma because the CBI director wanted to probe the Rafale deal. Gandhi and other opposition parties allege that the government bought overpriced fighter jets from French aviation firm.