Remove Sinha, Bhushan tells PM; Sharad Yadav says, “Arrest him, suspend him but do something you can.”
Troubles continue to mount for CBI Director Ranjit Sinha. Stepping up his attack, activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to remove the CBI chief and initiate disciplinary and criminal action against him. This, comes even as Janata Dal (United) chief Sharad Yadav also came down heavily against Sinha saying he has documents in his possession to expose the CBI chief’s “corrupt practices”. Yadav blamed Modi for his silence on Sinha and asked him act against the CBI Director.
In a four-page letter to Modi, Bhushan revealed that the controversial visitors’ diary at Sinha’s official residence was maintained by ITBP guards. Attaching his affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, Bhushan asked Modi to invoke the provisions of the Central Civil Service (Conduct) Rules against Sinha for his misconduct and impropriety. Detailing Sinha’s attempts to save the corporates from the 2G and Coal scams, Bhushan said the agency chief was in regular touch with lobbyists of all the companies accused in the scandals.
Bhushan said that those like Tony Jesudasan, Sethuraman, Sunil Bajaj, Mahendra Nahata, Dileep Talwar, Vijay Darda, Devendra Darda, MP Rungta, Anil Agarwal, Moin Qureshi and tainted former Medical Council of India chief Ketan Desai, besides former Union Minister Subod Kant Sahai, were the frequent visitors to Sinha’s home. Citing the visitor register entries, Bhushan named the ITBP’s team of personnel who were maintaining the logbook entry of visitors to Sinha’s home.
“It is submitted that the aforementioned instances clearly require immediate attention from your office and therefore, I request you to kindly initiate the process of his removal from the post of Director, CBI under Section 4B (2) of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act and also initiate appropriate disciplinary and criminal proceedings against him. “It is important to take these actions urgently so that the dignity of the post which he is occupying could be restored and also the important corruption cases, which are being handled by the CBI under his supervision, could be saved from getting derailed,” said Bhushan.
For his part, JD(U) president Sharad Yadav attacked the CBI Director accusing him of running a “gang of corrupt officers”. He questioned why Modi was “silent” though he has been elected on an anti-corruption plank. “Why has not the government suspended this man (Sinha)IJ No director has harmed the CBI as much as he has. Arrest him, suspend him but do something you can,” Yadav said, claiming he has in his possession documents which will nail Sinha’s involvement in what he alleged were his “corrupt practices”.
Criticising lack of action against the CBI chief, Yadav said a “naked dance of corruption” is happening right under the nose of the Government. “All kinds of accused are making a beeline to the CBI Director’s residence. The 2G scam accused, the Coalgate accused, the CWG accused or those who fear they may be made an accused.” “The CBI is the biggest weapon against corruption and see what its director is doing. In my over 40 years of public life, I have never seen a CBI director like this,” Yadav alleged.