New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the Diamond Jubilee Celebration of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) here on Monday, said that 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,” he said.

Addressing the gathering, Prime Minister Modi said the CBI has completed a journey of 60 years as the premier investigating agency of the country. Noting that these six decades have marked many achievements for the organization, he emphasized that a collection of Supreme Court judgements for matters relating to the CBI has also been launched today which gives us a glimpse of the history of CBI.

He said corruption in the government system hampers democracy and the first casualty are the dreams of the youth as in such circumstances a certain type of ecosystem flourishes killing talent. Corruption, the Prime Minister continued, promotes nepotism and a dynastic system which erodes the nation's strength, seriously hampering development.

“Through their work and skills, CBI has instilled trust among the common citizens of the country,” the Prime Minister said, noting that even today when an unsolvable case comes, a common accord emerges asking for the case to be handed over to the CBI. Giving examples, he mentioned that at times protests erupt in cities for a case to be handed over to the CBI.

“Even at the Panchayat level when a matter arises, a mutual voice amongst the citizens demands a CBI inquiry. CBI’s name is on everyone’s lips. It is like a brand for truth and justice,” the Prime Minister remarked as he noted the extraordinary feat of winning the trust of the common populace. He complimented the CBI for earning impede of multi-dimensional and multi-disciplinarian investigative agency and mentioned its expanded sphere.

The Prime Minister recalled that unfortunately, India got a legacy of corruption at the time of Independence and lamented the fact that instead of removing it, some people kept nourishing this malady. He remembered the scene of the scams and the prevailing sense of impunity just a decade ago. This situation led to the destruction of the system and an atmosphere of policy paralysis brought the development to stand still, he said.

Throwing light on one of the decades-old ways of looting the government’s treasury, the Prime Minister pointed out that the corrupt would go to an extent of looting the aid sent out to beneficiaries of government schemes. Be it rations, homes, scholarships, pensions or any other government scheme, the Prime Minister said, 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,” Modi said. Giving the example of Direct Benefit transfer, the Prime Minister said that the government has so far transferred Rs 27 lakh crore to the poor and also pointed out that based on the one rupee 15 paise theory, 16 lakh crores would have already disappeared. 

The Prime Minister remarked that beneficiaries are getting their full entitlement with the trinity of Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, and Mobile where more than 8 crore fake beneficiaries have been removed from the system. Due to DBT, about 2.25 lakh crore rupees of the country have been saved from going into the wrong hands.

 Stating that today there is no dearth of political will to take action against corruption in the country, he asked officers to take action without hesitation against the corrupt, however powerful. He asked 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.

“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.

 Prime Minister Modi stressed the need to eliminate silos between different agencies for better results. and reiterated that joint and multidisciplinary investigation will be possible only in an environment of mutual trust. Referring to international transactions and the movement of people, goods and services on a large scale even outside geographical boundaries. He said that India's economic power is growing while those who create obstacles are also increasing.

“Corruption money will be spent on this”, he said as 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 Prime Minister noted that even though crimes are becoming global due to modern technology, it is also the solution.

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 Prime Minister Modi conferred medals to the awardees. He 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.

He also released the updated Administration Manual of CBI, 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 and evidence. Union Minister of State for Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh, National Security Advisor to PM, Ajit Doval, Cabinet Secretary, Rajiv Gauba and Director, CBI, Subodh Kumar Jaiswal were also present on the occasion. /BI/