TDP to decide on legal action after SC verdict
The ruling Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh is closely monitoring the ongoing trial in Supreme Court in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case to decide on the course of action it should take to seek freedom for various institutions.
“If the Supreme Court takes appropriate action in the Alok Verma case, we may not go ahead. Otherwise, we will seek legal recourse requesting the Supreme Court to provide freedom for institutions like CBI, Enforcement Directorate (ED), etc.,” said AP Planning Board vice-chairman C Kutumba Rao.
The idea was to have an independent authority under the Supreme Court’s scrutiny to ensure freedom of these institutions was protected, he told PTI.
CBI chief Alok Verma had approached the SC challenging the Centre’s decision to divest him of his duties and sending him on leave following his feud with special CBI director Rakesh Asthana, who has levelled graft allegations against him.
The special CBI director has also been divested of his duties and sent on leave.
Pursuant to the top court’s order, the Central Vigilance Commission’s probe into corruption charges against Verma was conducted under the supervision of former apex court judge Justice AK Patnaik and the report was filed in the court on November 12.
Reacting to reports that the TDP might move the apex court seeking to restrain the income tax department and the ED from carrying out raids (at the behest of the Centre), Kutumba Rao, a key advisor to chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, maintained that the idea was only to protect the independence of such institutions. “There is still time for that. We are closely monitoring the proceedings in the Supreme Court (in the CBI case). If no appropriate action is taken by the court, we will go ahead with our plans,” he said.
Asked what “appropriate action” meant, the key advisor to CM Naidu said it was constitution of an independent authority under the Supreme Court’s scrutiny. The Chandrababu Naidu government has recently withdrawn the ‘general consent’ accorded to the central investigating agency to exercise its authority in the state.
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