A strange sense that the wheel may be turning full circle is the mood that prevails at Central Bureau of Investigation headquarters these days.
The investigative agency has landed smack in the middle of a power tussle between the Centre and the Jayalalithaa-led government in Tamil Nadu.
The trigger was the appointment of director-general of police-rank Tamil Nadu Indian Police Service officer Archana Ramasundaram as additional director of CBI, the first ever women to hold the post. Far from being pleased, Ms Jayalalithaa immediately suspended Ms Ramasundaram for taking up the post without a relieving order from the state government.
Sources say that Ms Ramasundaram’s appointment itself has been rather controversial, right from the time when the Cabinet Appointments Committee turned down the Central Vigilance Commission’s recommendation (the equally able R.K. Pachnanda but three years junior to the Tamil Nadu cop) in her favour. Currently the Supreme Court is hearing a petition challenging her selection to the CBI post. But it is also believed that Ms Ramasundaram’s present dilemma is the result of politics. Apparently, she and her husband are suspected to be close to the Opposition DMK, which would automatically put them at odds with the feisty chief minister of the state.
How this situation pans out remains to be seen, though obviously the sooner the controversy is resolved the better it is for all concerned.
