Congress rules out closure of CBI office in Rajasthan

New Delhi, Apr.7 (ANI) Congress party on Saturday ruled out the possibility of closing Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) office in Rajasthan, inspite of the high court in that state saying the day before that the CBI had lost its credibility as its officials were working on the whims and fancy of politicians.

Speaking to mediapersons here, Congress spokesperson, Raashid Alvi said: "I will not make any comment on the judgement of the High Court. However, I will also say that there is no question of closing down the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation)."

Meanwhile, shifting his focus to the visit of Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari to India, Alvi said the government is looking forward to speaking with him on a large number of issues, including militancy.

"Mr. Zardari is coming on a private visit to India, and it is not an official visit, and India always wants good relations with its neighbouring countries. At the same time, we also want nobody, especially Pakistan intervening in our internal matters, or creating terror in the country, and these are our demands. Now, that he is coming to India, the government will discuss all such issues with him," he said.

Zardari had earlier visited the shrine in 2005, with his wife and former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Bhutto, who was assassinated on December 27, 2007, was a firm believer of Chishti.

India and Pakistan, which have fought three wars since their independence from British rule in 1947, have been slowly trying to repair relations, and they agreed to resume formal peace talks broken off in the wake of the Mumbai attack in 2008 in which 166 people were killed.

He added that the Indian Government would reiterate its demand to extradite Hafiz Saeed - founder of the radical Islamic extremist outfit, Lashkar-e-Taiba and mastermind of the attack on the parliament and on Mumbai.

"We have time and again said to Pakistan government that it should hand over Hafiz Saeed to India, since he was the mastermind in the Mumbai attacks. Therefore, we have always demanded for his extradition and we are going to discuss the same with Zardari. Saeed should be handed over to India, so that we can try him as per our judicial system," Alvi added.

Meanwhile, Alvi defended Congress party general secretary Rahul Gandhi for the defeat of the party in the recently held polls in Uttar Pradesh.

"Rahul Gandhi is the leader of the country and national leader for Congress party. If he goes to any state, then it is beneficial for the party. On Uttar Pradesh, the party is grateful to him that he dedicated his time towards the state and we have moved ahead," he said.

Gandhi had campaigned tirelessly to revive his centre-left party in a politically crucial state where it has not held power for 22 years.

The campaign, which thrust him into the rough and tumble of the state's politics, where he even slept in villagers' huts, was seen as a test of his fitness to take over from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after general elections due in 2014. (ANI)