BJP says Group of Ministers on CBI autonomy an eyewash

New Delhi, May 15 (ANI): Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley today termed the Congress-led UPA Government's move to set up a Group of Ministers (GoM) to draft a new bill to insulate the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from political interference as an eyewash. Jaitley said the issue of autonomy of CBI has been discussed extensively during the debate over the Lokpal Bill as well as during the meeting of the Select Committee of the Upper House.

He said there were differences between the government and the opposition on certain points, but there was a broad agreement on most of the issues regarding the autonomy of CBI.

"The new Group of Ministers on autonomy for CBI is an eyewash. There is no need to start afresh. The Lokpal Bill passed by Lok Sabha also has provisions on autonomy to CBI. An amendment in the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act is sufficient," he said.

In the wake of the Supreme Court's criticism of the government for influencing the CBI report in the coal blocks allocation scam, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has formed a Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram to decide the plan of action to insulate the investigating agency from external influence.

Besides Chidambaram, the GoM has External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, newly-appointed Law Minister Kapil Sibal, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari and Minister of State for Personnel V. Narayanasamy as members.

According to reports, the GoM will deliberate on ways to further strengthen CBI's autonomy and safeguard it from any kind of outside interferences.

The government's move came after the Supreme Court had called the CBI "a caged parrot" that "speaks in its master's voice" after the investigating agency admitted in an affidavit that Ashwani Kumar, who quit as the Law Minister on Friday, and senior officials of the Prime Minister's Office and the coal ministry had made certain changes in the report on the allocation of coal blocks.

The apex court, which reserved its harshest words for the CBI, calling it a "caged parrot with many masters", stressed the need for the CBI to operate independently of the political establishment.

"You are not a constable or head constable. You are a premier investigating agency and must learn to work under pressure. It (probe) is not a collaborative exercise between the CBI and ministry officials ... It is a sordid saga of many masters and one parrot," it said.

The coal scam concerns the government's allocation of the nation's coal deposits to public sector entities (PSEs) and private companies. (ANI)

It seems for once the BJP and I are on the same wave length.

We both have very little confidence on the intentions of the Congress government.

They will try their best to scuttle the good intentions of the Supreme Court and try to water it down.

However, now that the Supreme Court will be following up the matter, I am sure we will have a truly independent CBI.