'Big fish' must not escape punishment: PM

RPK

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'Big fish' must not escape punishment: PM - dnaindia.com

'Big fish' must not escape punishment: PM

New Delhi: Asking the CBI and state anti- corruption officials to aggressively pursue "high level corruption", Prime minister Manmohan Singh today said the perception that "big fish" escape punishment must change and they should act swiftly and without fear.

Opening a conference of CBI and state anti-corruption bureaux here, he said there was no single remedy for fighting corruption which has to be combated at many levels, one of which was making existing systems less discretionary.

"High-level corruption should be pursued aggressively. There is a pervasive feeling that while petty cases get tackled quickly, the big fish escape punishment. This has to change," Singh said.

The prime minister said while quick investigation was important and necessary, it was not sufficient to bring the guilty to book.

"Trials should be conducted expeditiously and judgements delivered quickly. To begin with the aim should be to conclude the trial in two years so that punishment could be given to the offenders within a period of three years or so," he said.

Singh said the government has recently decided to set up 71 new CBI courts and expected them to function as model courts, hold day-to-day proceedings and avoid unnecessary adjournments.

The prime minister said the world respects Indian democracy, its plural and secular values, independent judiciary, free press, its commitment to freedom and peace and its pursuit of equitable and inclusive growth.

"But pervasive corruption in our country tarnishes our image. It also discourages investors, who expect fair treatment and transparent dealings. As the country grows and integrates with the world economy, corruption continues to be an impediment to harnessing the best technology and resources," he said.

Singh said the urgent need to combat corruption cannot be over emphasised as it distorts the rule of law and weakens institutions.

"It hurts our economic growth in a variety of ways apart from hindering our efforts to build a just, fair and equitable society," he said.

The PM said there is a constant refrain in public discourse that much of what the government provides never reaches the intended beneficiaries -- whether it is subsidised food grains for the poor, loans, fertilisers or seeds on concessional terms for small and marginal farmers or the benefit of employment programmes for the unemployed.

"This should be a matter of serious concern for all of us collectively," he said.

Singh said there was no single remedy for fighting corruption and battle against it has to be fought at many levels.

"The design of development programmes should provide for more transparency and accountability. Systems and procedures which are opaque, complicated, centralised and discretionary are a fertile breeding ground for the evil of corruption. They should be made more transparent, simple, decentralised and less discretionary," he said.

The two-day 17th biennial conference of CBI, state anti-corruption bureaux and vigilance agencies is being attended by their heads from all states and Union Territories.
 

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“pervasive corruption” was tarnishing the image of the country:pM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said “pervasive corruption” was tarnishing the image of the country and also discouraging investors besides being an impediment to its integration with the world economy.

“The world respects our democracy, our plural and secular values, our independent judiciary...our pursuit of equitable and inclusive growth. But pervasive corruption in our country tarnishes our image.

“It also discourages investors, who expect fair treatment and transparent dealings. As the country grows and integrates with the world economy, corruption continues to be an impediment to harnessing the best of technology and resources,” he told the 17th biennial conference of CBI and State anti-corruption bureaux here.

Stressing on the urgent need to combat the menace of corruption, the Prime Minister said “corruption distorts the rule of law and weakens institutions. It hurts our economic growth in a variety of ways, apart from hindering our efforts to build a just, fair and equitable society.”

Seeking effective participation of the CBI and officers of various state governments in “war against corruption”, he said “the malaise of corruption, so sapping our efforts to march ahead as a nation, should be treated immediately and effectively.”

(Pervasive corruption tarnishing country’s image: Manmohan @ The Hindu)
 

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PM says, corruption hurting eco growth, investments

Emphasizing on the urgent need of a multi-prong approach to curb corruption, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said it is hurting India’s economic growth and discouraging investors from coming to this country.

The pervasive corruption in our country tarnishes our image. It also discourages investors, who expect fair treatment and transparent dealings when dealing with public authorities. As the country grows and integrates with the world economy, corruption continues to be an impediment to harnessing the best of technology and investable resources,” the PM said at the seventeenth biennial conference of CBI and State Anti-Corruption Bureaus.

Singh also asked the CBI and other officers to change the feeling in the country that “while petty cases get tackled quickly, the big fish often escape punishment”.“This has to change. Rapid, fair and accurate investigation of allegations of corruption in high places should remain your utmost priority. The nation expects you to act firmly, swiftly and without fear or favour,” he said.

As the PM had identified the return to high growth rate as the biggest task for the second UPA government, the PM’s message today also shows concern over this obstacle on the revival path. Maintaining that corruption distorts the rule of law and weakens institutions of governance, PM said it is hurting the economic growth “in a variety of ways”.

“Important projects, which have huge externalities for growth, do not get implemented in time, and when they do get finished, they are often of a poor quality. Inflated project costs consume scarce national resources which could have been better used in other important areas in the service of our people , ” he said.

While his government has launched a host of programmes aiming the poor section of the society, the PM today especially mentioned how the poor are hurt because of corruption. “We have some of the most ambitious and wide ranging programmes to help the poor and the marginalized sections of our society. But, there is a constant refrain in public discourse that much of what the government provides never reaches the intended beneficiaries".

Just two weeks ago in the meeting of the chief ministers on internal security the PM as well as Home Minister P Chidambaram had hauled up the chief ministers of Nagaland and Manipur for rampant corruption in their states. An annoyed Chidambaram later told media that it is disturbing to see even government officials are forced to give a part of their salaries to the local insurgents regularly.

While emphasizing that this “malaise” should be treated immediately and effectively, Singh also made it clear that there is “no single remedy”. “The battle has to be fought at many levels. The design of development programmes should provide for more transparency and accountability. Systems and procedures which are opaque, complicated, centralized and discretionary are a fertile breeding ground for the evil of corruption. They should be made more transparent, simpler, decentralized and less discretionary” .

The PM also hinted that some recommendations of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission will be adopted soon to curb corruption. “It has given a wide range of recommendations. I am told that these have been examined in great detail and it should be soon possible to take a decision on many of these recommendations of the Administrative Reforms Commission.
 

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Prime Minister to inaugurate anti-corruption conference today

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will inaugurate a two-day CBI conference on anti-corruption here today.

The 17th biennial conference of the CBI, state anti-corruption bureaux and vigilance agencies will be attended by their chiefs.

Issues of corruption and efficacy of the existing legal system in dealing with the menace will be discussed during the conference.

The conference will have seven sessions during which several presentations and discussions on the subjects of topical interest including that about the probe into the multi-crore rupees Satyam scam will be made.

The topics covered during the conference include Anti-Corruption Work in Karnataka Lokayukta- A study; Innovation as a tactical tool to combat corruption; Good practices followed by anti-corruption agencies.

Investigation of anti-corruption cases- Technological perspectives; Capacity building for Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) and State FSLs; Vigilance aspects in public procurement and tendering processes; Contemporaneous issues (State referred issues) will also be considered.
 

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