Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 24 (IANS) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday gave a clarion call to all state government officials and asked them to keep away from corrupt practices.
He was speaking after inaugurating the ‘Revenue Day’ in the state capital city and also distributed awards to officials for their exemplary work.
Vijayan said that Kerala should aim to be a ‘Zero Corruption State’, even when Kerala at present is the least corrupt state in the country.
Vijayan pointed out that there is a minuscule minority of government officials who are engaged in corrupt practices, and he called upon the officials who know about this to speak up openly.
“Corruption has to be eradicated and the average common person who arrives in government offices for resolving their issues when they return happily with a smile on their face is the biggest reward for the government staff,” said Vijayan.
“I call upon all the government employees that none should look for personal gain, instead work for the upliftment of the society. All the files dealing with new projects should be handled without any ulterior motives of earning a commission,” added Vijayan.
“The need of the hour is to ensure that government officials should see that people are not allowed to make numerous visits to offices as this will instill in their minds that this is being done with ulterior motives,” said Vijayan.
This clarion call by Vijayan comes at a time when the Congress-led UDF and the BJP have been slamming Vijayan and his government for being the most corrupt government the state has ever seen.
By now, itself these two principal opposition parties have launched numerous protests and the floor of the assembly in the ongoing session has seen standoff between the treasury and the opposition benches, especially in sanction of a brewery plant in Palakkad district, which the Congress has been terming as a corrupt deal.
–IANS
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