No dearth of political will to tackle corruption : PM Modi

New Delhi, Apr 3 (FN Agency) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that there is no dearth of political will to take action against corruption in the country. PM Modi asked officers to act without any hesitation against the corrupt, how so ever powerful they may be and asked them not to be deterred by the ecosystem created by them to tarnish the image of investigative agencies. “The corrupt 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,” emphasized the Prime Minister. Speaking at the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, PM Modi stressed the need to eliminate silos between different agencies for better results. He reiterated that joint and multidisciplinary investigation will be possible only in an environment of mutual trust.He stressed the need to understand and study the multinational nature of crime and corruption. Stressing the need to further expand the use of forensic science in investigations, the PM noted that even though crimes are becoming global due to modern technology, the same technology is also the solution to this challenge.

Modi emphasized the need for an innovative approach to deal with cyber crimes. He suggested associating tech-enabled entrepreneurs and youngsters and better utilizing tech-savvy young officers in the department. He complimented CBI for compiling 75 processes and systems in the bureau that can be abolished and asked them to work on this in a timely manner. He asked that the process of evolution of the institution should continue tirelessly. “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”, said Modi. He said 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, said PM.

During the programme, an Investiture Ceremony for recipients of the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service and Gold Medal for Best Investigating Officers of CBI was also held wherein the Prime Minister conferred medals to the awardees. The PM also inaugurated the newly constructed office complexes of CBI at Shillong, Pune and Nagpur. He released a Postage Stamp and Commemorative Coin marking the Diamond Jubilee Celebration year of CBI and also launched the Twitter handle of CBI and released the updated Administration Manual of the agency, an Almanac on Bank Frauds– case studies and learning, in pursuit of justice – Supreme Court Judgements in CBI Cases and a handbook on International Police cooperation for the exchange of foreign located intelligence & evidence.