CBI bill in LS taken up amid uproar

New Delhi: Amid uproar and Congress walkout, Lok Sabha on Tuesday took up a bill under which absence of any of the three members of the selection committee to choose CBI chief will not hinder the exercise, with the government saying there was no deliberate design in this.

Minister of State for Department of Personnel and Training Jitendra Singh moved the Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Bill, 2014, for consideration.

Singh said the change in the Act was being made to ensure that the crucial decision on selection of CBI director does not remain in "suspension" or is delayed just because one of three members is not present.

"There is nothing deliberate by the government in it," he said.

The Amendment Bill was moved amid resistance by opposition parties, which questioned the "hurry" in which it was brought.

Members of Congress, TMC and SP staged a walk out.

Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge demanded that a discussion on black money be taken up first as he accused the ruling BJP of using the issue to "defame" UPA-II dispensation and sought its apology.

Rejecting the opposition contention that the bill was being pushed in haste, Singh said the current CBI was going to retire soon and a successor had to be chosen at the earliest.

CBI Director Ranjit Sinha will be retiring on December 2.