Rahul courts arrest, says PM can run but not avoid reality

New Delhi, Oct 26 Congress president Rahul Gandhi courted arrest on Friday in the wake of arranging a protest outside the CBI headquarters against the move to divest CBI Director Alok Verma of his powers, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi "stole" cash from the nation and can run but not escape reality.

Reiterating his allegations against the prime minister on the Rafale contender fly arrangement, Gandhi again called him "chowkidar" and said he had "stored Rs 30,000 crore in Anil Ambani's pocket".

"He has stolen money from the Indian Air Force and the youth, and the whole nation understands this. The prime minister can run however he can't avoid reality," Gandhi told journalists in the wake of seeking capture at the Lodhi Colony police station.

There were no immediate responses from the Prime Minister's Office on Gandhi's charges. While Ambani has been reliably denying the charges, the BJP has blamed Gandhi for assembling lies regular on the Rafale deal.

"Reality will turn out," Gandhi stated, including that expelling the CBI chief won't affect reality.

Tending to the social event of Congress dissidents prior in the day, Gandhi blamed Modi for decimating establishments, for example, the CBI, the Election Commission and the Enforcement Directorate.

Senior Congress leaders, including Ashok Gehlot, Ahmed Patel, Motilal Vora, Veerappa Moily and Anand Sharma, participated in the walk that finished in an exhibit in front of the CBI base camp.

Loktantrik Janata Dal leader Sharad Yadav, CPI leader D Raja and TMC's Nadimul Haque joined the dissent.

The Congress' protests in the national capital were replicated in other parts of the nation.

State Congress leaders led demonstrations in their areas against what the Congress portrayed as the "illegal, unconstitutional and illegitimate removal of the CBI chief by the Modi-Shah team".

The apex court said former Supreme Court judge A K Patnaik will direct a CVC investigation into the claims against Verma and the report must be set before it inside about fourteen days.

It directed that interim CBI chief M Nageswara Rao will not take any real strategy choices. Choices taken by him since October 23 till date will not be implemented, it said.

All decisions taken by Rao will be put under the watchful eye of the apex court in a sealed cover.