 Hello everyone and welcome to NewsClick. I'm Anushka and here's another episode of the Daily Roundup. Let's take a look at the top stories for today. CBI Director Alok Verma was sacked on Thursday night by a high-powered committee which comprised of PM Narendra Modi, Congress Leader Malik Arjun Kharke and Justice A.K. Sikli, who was standing in for Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogh. The Chief Justice recused himself from the process as he had written the order backing Verma on January 8th. This 2-1 decision comes just two days after the Supreme Court reinstated Verma, claiming his ouster to be illegal. Verma's removal from the high-profile post on alleged charges of corruption and dereliction of duty makes him the first Chief in the history of the agency to face such an action. Despite a six-page dissent note submitted by Kharke, who was the sole member of the committee to oppose the decision, the committee found Verma's continuance detrimental to the institutional integrity of the CBI. In his dissent note, Kharke protested the fact that the committee neither gave Verma a hearing, nor bothered to consider his replies to the CBC's report. Apart from not giving Verma a hearing before transferring him, the larger issue at hand is the fact that the committee which made the decision to remove Verma included the Prime Minister. How can the Prime Minister preside over a matter in which his office also stands accused? Shouldn't Modi, like Goghoy, have recused himself from the matter? Verma's tenure would have ended on January 31st, 2019. That's just a few days away. This sudden manner in which he's been removed could only point to one thing. Mr Modi is surely in no mood to even be remotely threatened by the possibility of an FIR filed against him in the Rafale case. M. Nageshwar Rao, whom the government had appointed as the acting director of the CBI, has once again been given temporary charge of the agency. Rakesh Astana, and this is the latest development in the news, the CBI number two will be investigated in the bribery case against him, the Delhi High Court, said today. Sedition charges have been slapped on 80-year-old academic Hiren Goheen, farmers' rights activist Akhil Goghoy, and journalist Manjeet Mahanta for their involvement in a Jan Sabha organised by the Forum Against Citizenship Amendment Bill, along with the Left Democratic Munch, to oppose the contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill. They were booked by the Assam Police for their remarks against the Citizenship Amendment Bill at the meeting. Goghoy, Mahanta and Dr. Goheen are part of a civil society group, Nagrik Samaj, which is protesting against the bill. Goheen is among a few noted names from the state, who recently filed a petition in the Supreme Court opposing the bill. A vocal opponent of the BJP and RSS, Akhil Goghoy was charged with sedition and subsequently under the National Security Act for another speech in September 2017. He was absolved of the charges by the court and released from jail in December that year. Journalist and convener of an Anti-Citizenship Bill Forum in the state, Mahanta also condemned the government's actions. Goghoy, Goghoy and Mahanta have also been booked under the IPC Sections 121 and 123 that relate to waging or trying to wage war against the government. Dr. Goheen claims his words have been twisted in order for a case to be made up against him. I'm quoting Dr. Goheen here. We never said that people should demand sovereignty or independence. We said that if the attack on Assamese people continues, then such a situation might arise. And now for some international news. In a surprise result, Felix Jisikeri was declared the new president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the DRC. Jisikeri won 38% of the popular vote in the elections that were held on December 38. There was 4% more than his nearest rival, Martin Faiulu, who was widely expected to win. Faiulu rejected the results and called it an electoral coup. The Catholic Church also said that the results didn't match the analysis made by its observers. Organisations working in Congo called the results a partial victory. As Immanuel Shadari, the candidate handpicked by outgoing President Joseph Kabila, was defeated. Kabila had ruled Congo brutally for nearly 17 years, making millions even as the country's mineral wealth was looted by multinational corporations. He was supposed to step down in 2016 but refused. In response, the people of Congo came out on the streets in massive protests. The government responded with brutal force, shooting protesters and detaining hundreds. But the unyielding spirit of the people forced Kabila to call elections in December 2018. Activists pointed out that it remained to be seen to what extent the Kabila regime would give up power and said that the legislative elections would be key in determining the future path of the country. That was another episode of the Daily Roundup. For more detailed reports you can always log on to our website www.newsclick.in and for more videos and interviews and news features, do visit our Facebook page and follow us on YouTube. Thank you for watching.