New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), India’s premier investigating agency, has emerged as a ‘brand for justice’, giving hope and strength to the common citizens, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Monday.
Addressing the agency’s diamond jubilee celebrations at the Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi, Modi said India cannot move forward without professional and efficient institutions like the CBI, and added that its main responsibility was to rid the country of corruption. He further encouraged CBI officers not to spare anyone found guilty of corruption and stressed the need for investigative agencies to work together and not in their individual silos.
In his speech, the Prime Minister also took a swipe at the Congress by saying that the “huge scams” that marred the UPA years (2004-14) destroyed people’s faith in governance.
Incidentally, Opposition leaders have been accusing the BJP government of misusing central agencies like the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to target critics. Last month, 14 Opposition parties moved the Supreme Court against the Union government’s “arbitrary use” of central agencies. Earlier in March, the leaders of nine Opposition parties — barring the Congress — wrote to PM Modi over the arrest of AAP’s Manish Sisodia in connection with the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, suggesting that action against him “tarnished” the image of central agencies and brought their “autonomy and impartiality” into question.
