BJP on Friday said its top leaders decided against attending the lunch hosted by Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, to protest against "misuse" of CBI by summoning Gujarat minister, Mr Amit Shah, in connection with the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case.
Addressing a press conference, senior BJP leaders, Ms Sushma Swaraj and Mr Arun Jaitley said they along with Mr L.K. Advani and the BJP chief, Mr Nitin Gadkari, had received the invitation for the lunch which they had accepted.
"We met on Thursday and decided not to go for the lunch which was conveyed this morning. This is to protest against the misuse of CBI in Gujarat," Ms Swaraj told reporters after a meeting of the top leaders here.
She said Mr Advani had raised the issue of "misuse" of CBI with the finance minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, but government did not pay heed.
Mr Jaitley termed the summoning of Shah as "political vendetta" and alleged that CBI has become the "extended arm" of the ruling party. "The timing of this is chosen for the political convenience of the Congress party," he added.