Congress MP and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi leaves after a meeting at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence in New Delhi, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. | Photo credit: PTI
A high-powered committee chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi met on Tuesday (May 12, 2026) evening to decide on the appointment of the next director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in which Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi submitted a dissenting note accusing the government of “institutional captivity of a political opponent” of a journalist.
The panel, headed by the Prime Minister, includes the Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant, in addition to the Leader of the Opposition. The meeting was held at Prime Minister’s Residence 7, Lok Kalyan Marg and lasted for over an hour.
Current CBI Director Praveen Sood’s tenure is set to end on 24 May 2026.
Mr Gandhi shared his strongly worded dissenting note on his X handle, accusing the government of making a “mockery” of the selection process.
“Your government has repeatedly misused the CBI, which is supposed to be India’s premier investigative agency, to target political opponents, journalists and critics. To prevent such institutional capture, the Leader of the Opposition is included in the selection committee. Unfortunately, you have continued to deny me any meaningful role in the process,” Mr Gandhi said.
Mr. Gandhi said that despite repeated written requests, he had not been provided with self-assessment reports or 360-degree reports on eligible candidates.
“Instead, I was expected to review the evaluation records of 69 candidates for the first time at a committee meeting. 360-degree reports were flatly denied to me. A detailed review of these records is critical to the assessment of each candidate’s history and performance. This deliberate withholding of information without any legal basis makes a mockery of the selection process and ensures that only your chosen candidate is pre-selected.
The Leader of the Opposition reminded Mr. Modi that he had registered his disapproval in a previous meeting on 5 May 2025 and had also written to him on 21 October 2025 proposing measures for a fair and transparent process.
“By denying the selection committee essential information, the government has reduced it to a mere formality. The leader of the opposition is not rubber.”
stamp. I cannot abdicate my constitutional duty by participating in this biased exercise. I therefore disagree most emphatically,” said Mr. Gandhi.
A key committee is responsible for finalizing the selection of the next CBI Director.
The selection is made from a panel of selected officers. Sources said several senior IPS officers from various states are part of the list of officers being considered for the top CBI post. Some names of IPS officers who are said to be under consideration include Parag Jain, Shatrujeet Kapoor, Yogesh Gupta, GP Singh and Praveer Ranjan.
Published – 12 May 2026 22:33 IST
