Samajwadi Party against granting autonomy to CBI

Samajwadi Party leader Naresh Aggarwal on Friday said his party is opposed to the cabinet's decision to grant the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) full or even partial autonomy.

"India should not grant freedom to the CBI and allow independency as no other country grants allows freedom to its investigation bureau." Aggarwal said.

"It is very dangerous if this decision is taken just on the basis of retired judges, as Indians have started feeling that the retired judges are honest and the people elected by the public are not honest. We need to break this assumption of Indians." Aggarwal added.

Aggarwal said the CBI should be under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister of India so that he can take unbiased decisions in the country's favor, and before taking this decision, all political parties should give their opinions.

Aggarwal's comments came a day after the Union Cabinet accepted the recommendations of a Group of Ministers (GoM) to enhance the autonomous status of the CBI through collegium system.

The collegeium will be tasked with the responsibility of appointing the CBI director and instituting an oversight panel to ensure impartial investigations.

The collegium will comprise the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition in thye Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India.

The collegium is similar to the one proposed for inclusion in the Lok Pal Bill that is yet to be made into law.

The measures adopted the Cabinet are expected to address several concerns raised by the opposition and will be part of a government response to be placed before the Supreme Court before July 6.

The Supreme Court has asked the government what is preventing it from ensuring that the CBI functions without political interference.