NEW DELHI: In his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said: “In a democracy like India, where people are struggling with poverty and do not have a place to live, there are people who do not have a place to keep their ill-gotten money. This is not an ideal situation.” During the Vigilance Awareness Week (October 31 to November 6), PM Modi not only took stock of what his Government had achieved on this front, but reminded all stakeholders – law enforcement officials, the political class and the civil society – that the many a battle were to be fought before the war is won.
Calling for an “administrative ecosystem” with “zero tolerance for corruption”, the Prime Minister said that “abhaav” (lack of necessities) of the people and unnecessary “dabaav” (pressure) from the Government were the two main reasons holding back the progress of the people while promoting corruption in the country.
“For a very long time, this absence of amenities and opportunity was deliberately kept alive and the gap was allowed to widen, leading to an unhealthy competition of a zero-sum race. This race fed the ecosystem of corruption. Queues at the ration shop, queues for a gas connection, for a cylinder refill, queues for admission, licence, permission, queues everywhere,” he said.
Corruption created by this scarcity affects the poor and middle classes the most. If the poor and middle class spend their energy arranging for basic amenities, they have little time to support the war against the corruption at high places, he said.
Addressing a programme organised by the Central Vigilance Commission, PM Modi said, “No matter how powerful the corrupt may be, they should not be spared… It is the responsibility of all organisations. No corrupt person should get political, social support. Every corrupt person should be put in the dock by society. It is necessary to create this environment.”
The Prime Minister was referring to the harsh reality of the Indian polity and society in which the corrupt are glorified in spite of being jailed, after being proven to be corrupt.
As the Prime Minister said every corrupt person should be held accountable by society. “People calling themselves honest do not feel ashamed to get photographed with such corrupt people. This situation is not good for Indian society,” he said. One reasons for this till now has been that the agencies entrusted with the job of bringing the corrupt to the book feared their political masters.
Another is that the politicians charged with such crimes are being put on the defensive while doing their work. While giving the law enforcement agencies a free hand to proceed against corrupt politicians and officials, Prime Minister Modi has been trying to change this system of scarcity and pressure for the last eight years.
His Government is trying to fill the gap between supply and demand. The three ways adopted to achieve this are through advancement in technology, taking basic services to saturation levels, and finally heading towards ‘atmanirbharta’ (self-reliance). Self-reliance in the defence sector achieved by the Modi Government is a case in point. Till Modi came to power in 2014, the defence sector was kept dependent on foreign countries, which was a major reason for corruption.
The Government’s push towards ‘atmanirbharta’ in the defence sector has ended the possibility of scams in India as the country is manufacturing its own defence equipment, from rifles to fighter jets to transport aircraft. Direct delivery of Government schemes to the beneficiaries is another major achievement of the Modi Government. This has cut off the politicians and officials who acted as middlemen and garbled Government funds.
Reaching every eligible beneficiary of any Government scheme and achieving the goals of saturation has put an end to discrimination in society while eliminating the scope of corruption The biggest achievement of the Modi Government is to put the institutions acting against the menace on the offensive. They ensure that no corrupt person, howsoever powerful, is allowed to go scot-free.
Since the day Narendra Modi has taken over the reins of the country the system has changed for the good. The corrupt have been cut to size and shown their right place. He has driven home a point that ‘New India’ won’t tolerate corruption and anyone who violates the norms will have to face the consequences.
