2 min readNew DelhiMay 13, 2026 03:18 AM IST
Soon after the Prime Minister-led three-member committee met Tuesday to select the next CBI Director, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, recorded his dissent over the proceedings, saying the “Leader of Opposition is not a rubber stamp” and he will not participate in “a biased exercise”.
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant is the third member of the committee.
The committee members met at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg in the evening to decide who should succeed Praveen Sood as the CBI Director. Sood’s two-year tenure, extended by a year in 2025, is due to end on May 24.
Releasing his dissent note to the Prime Minister on X, Rahul Gandhi said, “Despite repeated written requests, I was not provided with the self-appraisal reports or 360-degree reports of the eligible candidates. Instead, I was expected to examine the appraisal records of sixty-nine candidates for the first time during the Committee meeting. The 360-degree reports were denied to me outright. A detailed review of these records is crucial to assess each candidate’s history and performance. This deliberate denial of information, without any legal basis, makes a mockery of the selection process and ensures that only your pre-decided candidate is selected.”
“Your government has repeatedly misused the CBI, intended to be India’s premier investigative agency, to target political opponents, journalists, and critics. It is to prevent such institutional capture that the Leader of Opposition is included in the Selection Committee. Regrettably, you have continued to deny me any meaningful role in the process,” he wrote.
He pointed out that he had recorded his dissent in the previous meeting on May 5, 2025. “I had also written to you on 21st October 2025, suggesting measures for a fair and transparent process, to which I have not even received a response,” his letter stated.
“By denying the Selection Committee crucial information, the government has reduced it to a mere formality. The Leader of Opposition is not a rubber stamp. I cannot abdicate my constitutional duty by participating in this biased exercise. I therefore dissent in the strongest terms,” Gandhi said.
