Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday courted arrest after staging a protest outside the CBI headquarters against the decision to divest CBI director Alok Verma of his powers and send him on leave.

Addressing the gathering, Rahul attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of destroying institutions, including the CBI, the Election Commission and the Enforcement Directorate.

Senior Congress leaders, including Ashok Gehlot, Ahmed Patel, Motilal Vora, Veerappa Moily and Anand Sharma, took part in the march that culminated in a demonstration in front of the CBI headquarters.

Loktantrik Janata Dal leader Sharad Yadav, Communist Party of India leader D. Raja and Trinamul Congress's Nadimul Haque joined the protest.

The Congress's protests in the national capital were replicated in other parts of the country.

State Congress leaders led demonstrations in their regions against what the Congress believe to be the “illegal, unconstitutional and illegitimate removal of the CBI director by the Modi-Shah duo”.

The apex court said former Supreme Court judge A.K. Patnaik will oversee a CVC inquiry into the allegations against Verma and the report has to be placed before it within two weeks.

It directed that interim CBI chief M Nageswara Rao shall not take any major policy decisions. Decisions taken by him since October 23 till date shall not be implemented, it said.

All decisions taken by Rao shall be placed before the apex court in a sealed cover.