The CBI is neither "a caged bird nor the Congress Bureau of Investigation", said Finance Minister P Chidambaram today, rejecting allegations that the country's premier investigating agency is impeded by an interfering government to protect its interests.

"The CBI pretends to be a helpless victim when it pleads for more autonomy," the Finance Minister said.

His comments come just a day after the Prime Minister warned the Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI and other police agencies not to sit in judgement over policy-making, which he described as a complex process.

The PM also said that investigators should not equate poor judgement with criminal misconduct.

The remarks by the PM and the Finance Minister come as the government is enveloped in controversy over the CBI's investigation into alleged corruption in the allocation of coal licenses, a scandal that has been dubbed "Coal-gate." Read the full story here.