Hours after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sent its Director Alok Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana on leave, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused the BJP government of conducting a political coup against the CBI.

Addressing a meeting in Rajasthan’s Jhalawar, Gandhi alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi removed Verma as the premier investigative agency was raising questions on the Rafale jet deal.

“Kal raat chowkidar ne CBI ke Director ko hataya kyunki CBI Rafale pe sawal utha rahi thi (Yesterday night, the watchman (PM Modi) removed the CBI Director because the agency was raising questions on the Rafale deal),” Rahul Gandhi was quoted as saying by ANI.

Earlier, Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter to claim that the CBI chief was forcibly sent on vacation as he had been gathering information on the Rafale deal “scam”.

He further said that the prime minister wanted to give out a clear message that “whoever messes with the jet deal will be removed or destroyed”.

“The country and the Constitution are under threat,” he added.

The unprecedented move by the probe agency to send its top two officials on leave amid an ongoing spat between them, has created a huge furore among the opposition parties, who termed the late-night development as “illegal”, a “shoddy cover-up” and “panic move”.

Read | CBI chief Alok Verma, Asthana sent on leave; Nageshwar Rao takes over as interim chief

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal too attacked the government and wondered if there was a “co-relation between the Rafale deal and removal of Alok Verma”.

“What are the reasons for sending CBI director on leave? Under which law did the Modi govt get the authority to initiate action against the chief of an investigating agency appointed as per the Lokpal Act? What is Modi govt trying to hide?” he tweeted.

Earlier this month, reports had it that the government was unhappy with CBI Director Alok Verma meeting former Union minister Arun Shourie and lawyer Prashant Bhushan who demanded a probe into the alleged corruption in the Rafale deal.

Read | Rafale deal | Govt ‘unhappy’ over CBI chief meeting Arun Shourie, Prashant Bhushan

Shourie and Bhushan had met the CBI Director, submitted documents and demanded a probe into alleged corruption in the Rafale aircraft deal and offset contract.

The Congress has been accusing massive irregularities in the deal, alleging that the government was procuring each aircraft at a cost of over Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore finalised by the UPA government when it was negotiating procurement of 126 Rafale jets.

PM Modi announced the purchase of 36 Rafale fighters after talks with Hollande on April 10, 2015, in Paris.