Following the allegations and counter-allegations of corruption by CBI director Alok Verma and special director Rakesh Asthana against each other, which led to the government taking them "off duty", finance minister Arun Jaitley said that the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is the right authority for probing the matter and not the government.

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“CVC has the power to conduct a fair investigation on CBI issue and has all the material on allegations and counter allegations,” Jaitley said at a press conference, adding that, “We are not prejudging who is guilty, we are trying to make sure India’s investigative process doesn’t become a mockery, officers under a cloud must stand out as an interim measure.”

Being India's premier investigative agency, people demand for a CBI inquiry into special cases and hence, the institution needs to maintain its integrity, the finance minister said.

Jaitley added that the CVC has the power to conduct the investigation under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

First Published:Oct 24, 2018 1:16 PM IST