Extension Of Agency Chiefs Tenures: Opposition vs Government Row Returns
NDTV
The Opposition alleged that the tenure extension of CBI and Enforcement Directorate would completely undermine the autonomy of these institutions.
The Opposition and the BJP sparred on Thursday over the government's move to extend the tenures of the directors of CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) up to a maximum of five years, with the Opposition alleging that it would completely undermine the autonomy of these institutions, and the ruling party defending the step as being necessary to fight large scale corruption.
The Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2021, and the Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Bill, 2021, had been introduced in the Lok Sabha last week amid protest by the Opposition and came up for passage Thursday.
Moving a statutory resolution for disapproval of the ordinances which were enforced to amend the Central Vigilance Act and the Delhi Police Special Establishment Act, Congress MP Manish Tewari said they were "arbitrary, capricious", and an "exercise of power".
"Any democracy is as strong or as weak as the institutions that support it... Unfortunately, over the last seven-and-half years, this government has made every attempt to dismantle the system of checks and balances which are intrinsic to our constitutional scheme," he alleged.
