Hyderabad: Telugu Desam Party (TDP) President N Chandrababu Naidu has demanded that the Centre immediately enact a comprehensive legislation to root out corruption in the country.
In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he
suggested seven measures to curb corruption and black money
"to protect and liberate the four pillars of democracy and the
society from the shackles of money power".
Releasing the letter to the media here this evening,
Naidu wanted the Union Government to first prepare a draft
legislation and put it for a wider public debate involving all
political parties, intellectuals and also the general public.
"Corruption is the root cause for all the miseries
faced by the nation and the people. The country`s image has
been badly tarnished in the world because of unbridled
corruption. The corrupt people should be taught a lesson."
The former Chief Minister said corruption came to be
gauged by two yardsticks: pre-1991 and post-1991.
"Pre-1991, the scale of corruption was less. Post-
1991, thanks to economic liberalisation, the scale of
corruption became enormous," he maintained and stated that the
Bofors scandal remained "the typical and classical example" of
corruption as it was being talked about even after 20 years.
"At a time when we should be ensuring that the fruits
of development reach the poor, the country has been caught in
a vortex of corruption, misuse of power, lack of transparency,
tax evasion and serious frauds," he lamented.
"The damage to the democratic structure is enormous,
particularly in view of the fact that these scandals have been
allowed to continue unchecked and the culprits go unpunished."
PTI
