Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Friday described the Supreme Court’s order for a time-bound inquiry against benched CBI chief Alok Verma as an “extremely positive development”.

Other BJP leaders, however, tried to sidestep the subject.

“The Supreme Court ruling is an extremely positive development. The truth coming out is in the larger national interest,” Jaitley said.

“All officers of the CBI, particularly the top two, are like Caesar’s wife and must be beyond suspicion.”

Other BJP leaders appeared doubtful. That the court did not reinstate Verma straightaway was a relief for the government, one of them admitted, “but what if Verma gets reinstated after the inquiry?” “We had expected the court not to interfere in the issue,” he added.

Jaitley, known for using his lawyer’s skills to make adverse situations seem favourable, justified both the government’s move to send Verma on forced leave and the apex court’s order for a two-week probe under the supervision of a retired Supreme Court judge.

“The Supreme Court setting a two-week timeframe would further strengthen the fairness criteria of the investigations, and the appointment of a retired judge would ensure a fair inquiry,” he said.

Jaitley added that the recent developments in the CBI — with Verma and his deputy Rakesh Asthana publicly hurling bribery charges against each other — had eroded its credibility and the government action was meant to restore it.

The BJP, which never misses an opportunity to slam Rahul Gandhi, did not field anyone to attack the Congress president on Friday.