Poll-eve PM tutorial on corruption

"Dynasty of corruption (that has passed) from generation to generation... became part of political tradition... makes the country hollow"

As the countdown began for the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections, in which 71 seats will vote on Wednesday, PM Modi sent out a loud and emphatic message by slamming dynastic corruption, saying that it has become a part of the political culture in some states.

Inaugurating a three-day national conference on vigilance organised by the CBI, the prime minister said that inaction in a single corruption case can lay the foundation for future scams.

"Dynastic corruption (bhrashtachaar ka vanshwaad), as in corruption carried forward from one generation to another, has grown over decades to become a formidable challenge before the country," he said.

"During the past decades, we have seen that when one generation of corrupt people is not punished adequately, its subsequent generations indulge in corruption with more impunity," the prime minister said.

His remarks came even as the BJP-JDU alliance is going hammer and tongs at Tejashwi Yadav, the chief ministerial candidate of the 'Mahagathbandhan', over corruption cases against his jailed father and RJD leader Lalu Prasad.

If suitable action is not taken in corruption cases, it becomes a ‘normal’ in society, the prime minister said.

When a generation sees that a corrupt person in the family has been let off without or ver y little punishment, their courage to indulge in corrupt practices grows manifolds, he said.

"People know, the media knows that a person has made crores of rupees through corrupt means, but they also start treating it as something normal. "This situation is a major obstacle in the growth of the countr y. It is a hindrance to a prosperous and self-dependent India," he said. The PM said corruption is not a standalone issue as economic offences, drugs, money laundering, terrorism and terror funding are all inter linked. "We need to have systemic checks, effective audits and capacity building and training against corruption in a holistic approach. There needs to be synergy and cooperative spirit among different agencies fighting corruption," he said.

Modi stressed that preventive action against corruption is more important than punitive action. "An assault on practices which give the scope of corruption is a must," he said.