INDIA
Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi (pictured) has used the country’s Independence Day address to reiterate his Government’s tough approach to corruption in the Public Service.
Mr Modi said that since coming to power five years ago, his Government had dismissed several people who enjoyed “cushy positions” in the Government.
“Those who used to be roadblocks in our endeavours to eradicate corruption, we told them to pack their bags. The country doesn’t need their services,” Mr Modi said.
“Corruption is like termites, whose eradication needs sustained and collective effort, both at the Government and the individual level.”
He said changes were needed not just in the Public Service but also in social life.
“There also has to be a change in the minds and hearts of those who run the system… only then can the desired goals be achieved,” Mr Modi said.
The Prime Minister’s statement came weeks after several Indian Revenue Service officers were forcibly retired charged with corruption or non-performance.
Since its re-election in May, the Modi Government has also written to all Ministries and Departments ordering them to prepare lists of officers recommended for premature retirement.
Last month, the Minister of State for Personnel and Public Grievances, Jitendra Singh said the Government had retired 312 Public Servants during its first term.
In his address, Mr Modi was doubling down on an earlier interview when he said that the Government had decided from its first day in office to “attack the menace of corruption. Someone had to make a start somewhere; we decided to do this, without caring for political consequences”.
New Delhi, 17 August, 2019
