NEW DELHI: Corruption is the biggest threat to democracy and justice and the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) key responsibility is to free India from it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on  Monday, April 3.

Addressing a gathering at the CBI's diamond jubilee celebrations, the prime minister emphasised that his government had the political will to combat corruption. He continued by saying that it is the wish of the nation and its people that no corrupt individual be spared. "Corruption is a serious offence. It robs the poor of their rights, and this produces a large number of criminals, said PM Modi. He said that the government has begun taking action against benami property and black money. Together with the corrupt, we are also battling the sources of corruption, he said.

Without professional and effective institutions, it is impossible to establish a developed India, and as a result, the CBI has a significant responsibility, according to Modi.

The Prime Minister stated that requests to turn over unsolved cases to the CBI still exist today. The  CBI has instilled confidence in the public through its efforts and methods. If there is corruption, youth do not have equal possibilities and just one particular eco-system is empowered. Terming corruption the biggest enemy of merit,  the Prime Minster said it encourages nepotism and dynastic rule. When these 2 factors increase, the country’s strength gets affected, and when strength is weakened, it impacts development, he said.

The corrupt have developed strategies to plunder the nation's wealth for decades, the Prime Minister said, and they did this by stealing from the government's coffers. Beneficiaries now have access to all of their entitlements through "Jandhan" bank accounts, which connect their Aadhar cards to their cell phones, he claimed.

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