Ex-CBI Director Alok Verma removed from list of guest speakers at Delhi’s Sri Ram College
Former director of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Alok Verma won’t be attending an event of Delhi’s prestigious college as he has been dropped of the list of guest speakers. Verma was invited as guest speaker at annual event of Delhi's Sri Ram College of Commerce.
Former CBI was invited by the Sri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) Students’ Union Business Conclave 2019 in New Delhi on February 14. The business conclave organised by SRCC is an annual event which is held from February 14 to 16.
As per reports, the invitation was sent to Verma on January 9, a day when he was reinstated as the director of the national probe agency by the Supreme Court.
Let us tell you, a high-powered committee comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Justice AK Sikri and leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge removed him from the post of CBI director in a split decision, with Kharge giving a strong dissent note to the committee.
On January 11, Alok Verma stepped down as CBI Chief. The SRCC invite has top Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and ministers - Nirmala Sitharaman, Smriti Irani and Sunil Prabhu.
However, the reasons behind Verma's withdrawal to invite are not clear.
SRCC management said, "An invitation was sent to Mr Alok Verma when he was holding his office. Post this CBI controversy, we had to revoke his invitation, absolutely under no pressure from anybody. SRCC has always refrained itself from calling people who are associated with controversies. That's the only concern."
Last year on October 23, Verma was sent on forced leave by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and government over charges of corruption by his deputy Rakesh Asthana. Verma challenged the order of his removal before the apex court. However, he was again removed from the CBI director post on January 10 by PM-led selection panel.
First published: 14 February 2019, 10:14 IST