Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Monday that corruption takes away the rights of the poor and begets many other crimes, and CBI’s key responsibility is to rid the country of it.
Addressing a gathering at the diamond jubilee celebrations of the Central Bureau of Investigation, Modi said, “Corruption is not an ordinary crime, it snatches the rights of the poor, it begets many other crimes, corruption is the biggest obstacle in the path of justice and democracy. Corruption in the government system hampers democracy and the first casualty is the dreams of the youth as in such circumstances a certain type of ecosystem flourishes killing talent. Corruption promotes nepotism and a dynastic system which erodes the nation’s strength, seriously hampering development”.
Recalling the scams and the prevailing sense of impunity just a decade ago, the Prime Minister said this situation led to the destruction of the system and an atmosphere of policy paralysis brought the country’s development to stand still.
Modi asked all officers to take action without hesitation against the corrupt and told them not to be deterred by the history of the power of the corrupt and the ecosystem created by them to tarnish the investigative agencies. “Today there is no dearth of political will to take action against corruption in the country. These people will keep distracting you, but you have to focus on your work. No corrupt person should be spared. There should be no laxity in our efforts. This is the wish of the country, this is the wish of the countrymen. The country, law and constitution are with you,” he said.
“After 2014, the priority of the government was to instil faith in the system and for this, the government started taking action against black money, Benami property in mission mode and started inflicting damage on the corrupt as well as the reasons behind the corruption. We also bring transparency in the processes of issuing government tenders and there is a difference in 2G and 5G spectrum allocations. GeM (Government eMarketplace) Portal has been established to ensure transparency in making purchases in every department of the Central government,” he said.
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He also mentioned the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act which has so far enabled the confiscation of properties of fugitive offenders worth Rs 20000 crore.
Pointing at one of the decades-old ways of looting the government’s treasury, Modi said the corrupt would go to the extent of looting the aid sent out to beneficiaries of its schemes. “Be it rations, homes, scholarships, pensions or any other government scheme, the original beneficiary would feel conned every single time. Even a prime minister once said for every rupee sent out to the poor, only 15 paise reaches them,” he said.
He added the government has so far transferred Rs 27 lakh crore to the poor and also pointed out that based on the Re 1-15 paise theory, Rs 16 lakh crore would have already disappeared.
Modi also inaugurated the newly constructed office complexes of CBI at Shillong, Pune, and Nagpur. He also released a postage stamp and commemorative coin marking CBI’s Diamond Jubilee Celebration year and launched the agency’s Twitter handle.
