’CBI should be answerable to house and not Home Ministry’

Veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi says the agency should not be governed under the Delhi Police Act, demands new law for CBI for greater autonomy

'CBI should be answerable to house and not Home Ministry'

Veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi says the agency should not be governed under the Delhi Police Act, demands new law for CBI for greater autonomy

Senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi has reiterated his demand for autonomy for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and called for it to be freed from the Delhi Police Act. The leader, who was in the city yesterday, said a new law should be enacted for the CBI and the agency should be asked to submit a report to Parliament every six months.

For A stronger system: Joshi said a panel comprising of the PM, the
home minister, a Supreme Court justice and a leader of the Opposition
should choose a candidate for the post of CBI director

Today, as a consequence of the agency coming under the Delhi Police Act, it and the Delhi Police are governed by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Joshi said this means the CBI is controlled by the Home Minister.

Joshi, who is also the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament, said there should be a separate legislation to control the CBI, with a panel comprising of the prime minister, the home minister, a justice of the Supreme Court and a leader of the Opposition choosing a candidate for the post of CBI director.

He said a similar procedure should be adopted for the selection of the central vigilance commissioner and the comptroller and auditor general of India.

"We need to strengthen the system in the current scenario of demands for a strong Jan Lokpal," said Joshi.
The senior BJP politician was also apprehensive about certain points regarding the creation of an anti-corruption mechanism.u00a0

"We want everyone from the government to be under the Lokpal Bill, but why not the corporate sector and NGOs?" he said. "Once all these institutions are controlled by the Jan Lokpal, who will govern the nation and what will be the definition of democracy?"

He also reiterated that Union Home Minister P Chidambaram was equally responsible for the 2G mess. "He (Chidambaram) should have stopped the goings-on during his tenure as finance minister," Joshi said. "Even the PM could have stopped this as any report by group of ministers (GoM) needs his approval."