India is moving toward “Atmanirbharta” (self-reliance) by making its own Defence equipment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday. He reassured officials and institutions that they don’t need to be “defensive” when taking action against Corruption and the corrupt.

At a programme in Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan to mark the “vigilance awareness week” of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), the PM said that “corrupt” people should not get any “political-social” support or protection, no matter how powerful they are.

Modi pointed out that the country’s “too much dependence” on foreign goods over the years has been a major cause of corruption. He said, “We know how the defence sector was kept dependent on foreign countries, which was a major cause of corruption. Our government’s push for Atmanirbharta in the defence sector has ended the possibility of scams, as India is now moving toward making its own defence equipment, from rifles to fighter jets to transport aircraft.

He said that the same self-reliance approach is being used in other areas as well.

The PM stressed that institutions like the CVC that work to Fight Corruption don’t have to be defensive in any way, and that they don’t have to work on any political agenda other than making people’s lives easier.

“Those with vested interests will try to stop the proceedings and smear people connected to these institutions,” the PM said. “But people are like God; they know and test the truth, and when the time comes, they stand with those who support the truth.”

“All government departments must show that the government is serious about fighting corruption. “If we want India to develop, we have to create a system of government that doesn’t allow corruption,” he said.

Modi said, “No matter how powerful the corrupt may be, they should not be saved under any circumstances. It is the responsibility of organisations like you” (to the room full of officials from anti-corruption agencies).

“No corrupt person should get political or social support,” he said. “Every corrupt person should be put on trial by society.” “This environment is also necessary,” he added.

Modi said that these dishonest people are often praised even though they are in jail after being found guilty. Some people try to make a case for corrupt people who have already been found guilty. Society needs to make sure that these people and forces know what their job is. Concrete steps taken by your department(s) also make a big difference.”

The PM told the officials, “When you act with conviction, the whole nation stands with you.”

At the same time, PM Modi also opened a portal for the CVC’s “complaint management system.” This will allow citizens to file corruption complaints online and check on their progress in an easy way.

The Prime Minister lamented the actions of previous governments and said that the effects of slavery, corruption, exploitation, and control over resources only got worse after the country got its independence, hurting four generations of people.

“For a long time, people were deprived of comforts and opportunities on purpose, and as the gap grew, it led to an unhealthy zero-sum race. Corruption grew because of this race. The poor and middle class are most affected by corruption caused by this lack of resources. How will the country get better if the poor and middle class spend all their time trying to get the basics?

That’s why, for the past eight years, we’ve been trying to change this system of scarcity and pressure. We are trying to make up for the difference between supply and demand. The three ways to do this are to improve technology, provide basic services to the point of saturation, and move toward “Atmanirbharta,” the PM said.

The PM also said that criminal cases should be watched all the time, and he asked the government to come up with a way to rank departments based on the number of pending corruption cases, like the “swachhta” (cleanliness) rankings, and to put out reports on this every month or three months.

“We need to audit the data on public complaints so we can find out why there is corruption in the department in question,” he said.

From October 31 to November 6, the anti-corruption watchdog CVC is holding Vigilance Awareness Week with the theme “corruption-free India for a developed nation.”

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