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'Make CVC report that led to Verma's ouster public'

New Delhi: Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge has demanded that the government should make public the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) report that formed the basis for the ouster of CBI Director Alok Verma, which has been disowned by retired Supreme Court Judge A.K. Patnaik, causing embarrassment to the government.

He also termed the appointment of M. Nageshwara Rao as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) interim Director "illegal" and sought an immediate meeting of the high-level Screening Committee to appoint a new Director.

"Despite my best efforts to convince the members of the Committee (Prime Minister and CJI nominee) that we should be following the due process of law and the principles of natural justice, the members chose to take a decision based on a report that now stands disowned by Justice Patnaik, who was asked by the Supreme Court to monitor the CVC inquiry," he said in the letter.

Kharge cited media reports which quoted Justice Patnaik as saying that "there was no evidence of corruption against Verma" and what the CVC said cannot be the final word while terming the Committee's decision as "very very hasty".

"Such a huge embarrassment could have been avoided if the Committee had decided to examine a report of the CVC independently, the report of Justice Patnaik, the submissions of Alok Verma in his defence and drawn its conclusions before reaching a decision."

He said a Committee that consists of senior representatives of the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary should not take a decision merely on a report prepared by an outside agency, howsoever competent, without vetting the report and applying its mind.

"It is unfortunate the manipulative actions of the government are directly responsible for causing deep embarrassment to the judiciary," he said.

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