“Many carefully fostered myths”

There are several myths about the Central Bureau of Investigation, ranging from the celebrated epithet “caged bird” to the abusive nomenclature “Congress Bureau of Investigation,” Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said here on Tuesday.

“None of the descriptions is correct or even well-meaning. Some myths are carefully fostered and propagated in order to serve an immediate or narrow self-interest,” he said at the three-day conference organised by the CBI.

“In a lighter vein, I may say that sometimes the CBI itself pretends to be a helpless victim when it pleads for more powers and greater autonomy. Hardly anyone seems to notice the contradiction when the same person pleads in favour of more powers to the CBI and also rails against the alleged excesses of the CBI. And hardly anyone pauses to ask how the CBI could do the bidding of a party that has not been in government during 12 of the last 35 years.”