Rahul Gandhi submits dissent note on CBI chief selection

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday gave a strong dissent note on the process of selection of the next CBI director during a meeting of the high-powered panel led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and said he does not want to be a part of a "biased exercise". In his dissent note, he alleged that the government has reduced the selection process to a mere formality and the leader of opposition (LoP) cannot be a rubber stamp. "By denying the Selection Committee crucial information, the government has reduced it to a mere formality. The leader of opposition is not a rubber stamp. The high-level three-member panel, which also includes Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, met at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg in the evening to finalise the next CBI director. The extended tenure of the incumbent, 1986-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Praveen Sood, will come to an end on May 24. The new director’s name was not announced till the time of going to press. PM Narendra Modi chaired the meeting. Gandhi  accused the government of repeatedly misusing the CBI to target political opponents, journalists, and critics. “It is to prevent such institutional rupture that the Leader of Opposition is included in the selection committee. Regrettably, you have continued to deny me any meaningful role in the process,” he said.

According to sources,  a list of senior IPS officers from the 1989 to 1993 batches was prepared by the department of personnel and training (DoPT) for the high-powered committee to consider for the coveted post. The officers whose names made it to the list for the consideration of the panel include present Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) chief Parag Jain (1989-batch); Shatrujeet Singh Kapoor from Haryana and Maharashtra DGP Sadanand Date (1990 batch); Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) director general GP Singh and his National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) counterpart Piyush Anand (1991 batch), Delhi police commissioner Satish Golccha (1992 batch), among others.
The incumbent CBI director, Praveen Sood, was appointed to the post on May 25, 2023 for a two-year period, which was extended by another 12 months by the high-powered panel in May last year.