Jaitley says CBI suffered credibility gap in past decade

BJP leader Arun Jaitley on Friday said that the CBI has suffered a credibility gap over the last decade as the agency’s directors are ‘controlled’ by the ruling party to ‘victimise’ political opponents. 

‘The agency has suffered a credibility gap in the past ten years. The CBI as an organization is substantially controlled by its directors. The directors were chosen by the government and not by any balanced collegiums,’ he said. 

These directors were controlled not only by the government, but even by key functionaries of the ruling party, he added. 

‘There were several cases in which persons close to the government had to be helped’, Jaitley opined. 

‘Similarly, there were cases where persons opposed to the government had to be victimized. Some of the chargesheets filed against the BJP in Rajasthan and Gujarat are unsustainable,’ he added. 

Delhi is full of rumours these days about the disclosures made by a prominent businessman who acted as a front for many politicians and officials, he said adding that these were further likely to erode the credibility of CBI since prominent names connected with the CBI are also mentioned in this regard. 

‘A full public disclosure of this information is now necessary. Everybody must be honest. Certainly the CBI officials must be more honest than the others,’ he said. 

He complimented former West Bengal governor for his comments on the investigative agency.  ‘Gopal Gandhi was invited to deliver the DP Kohli Memorial lecture which is annually organised by the CBI. After analysing the statutory scheme of functioning of the CBI, Gandhi linked the CBI to the dirty tricks department of the Government. This should shake the conscious of the officials of the CBI’, Jaitley said.