New Delhi, Nov 11 (IANS): The BJP Monday hit out at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his comments on the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), saying the autonomy of the agency was paramount and more important than questions of its legality.

"The prime minister should have spoken on how to make the CBI autonomous," BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said.

"The Congress has misused the CBI to shield itself from corruption. Thus the image of the CBI has been spoiled. Faith in the CBI comes from its autonomy. That has been compromised," party spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.

The prime minister, at a conference of CBI and state anti-corruption bureaus, said the government would "promptly" look into the legality issue of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raised by the Gauhati High Court.

A division bench of the Gauhati High Court last week questioned the validity of India's premier investigating agency, saying that it was legally not a police force.

The Supreme Court Nov 9 stayed this order and fixed Dec 6 as the next date of hearing.