Venkaiah Naidu

Calling for attacking corruption at the roots, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Monday asked civil servants not to be misled by “black sheep” and render their service without fear or favour.

Naidu also hailed GST as a revolutionary step and praised demonetisation.

“As you are new generation of civil servants, I hope you will not be misled by black sheep in the fold but would render your service without fear or favour and without any expectation of extraneous rewards. If you serve in the true spirit of service I am sure you will have your best reward,” he said while inaugurating the Vigilance Awareness Week 2017 being organised by Central Vigilance Commission from October 30 to November 4.

He said that ‘black sheep’ in all walks of life were the visible face of corruption and they thrive in a system that has low accountability, low transparency, cumbersome, poorly understood procedures and high discretionary powers.

Naidu said the “procedures and laws should become more citizen-centric and each citizen should get services without harassment, delays and corrupt practices”.

He asked civil servants to reform and transform the system and go ahead with the “three mantras” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi — “reform, perform and transform”.

“We should go to the roots of corruption and strike at it. Constant vigilance is required to see that the vast beautiful tree of our country is not eaten up by weeds and pests.”

He said this year’s Vigilance Week’s theme “My Vision-Corruption-free India” has been aptly chosen.

The Vice President paid homage to Sardar Vallabhai Patel, whose birth anniversary falls on October 31.

“Sardar Patel represents the best values in the Indian tradition so far as governance is concerned. He integrated the country and also was a shining example of integrity and probity in public life. We must draw inspiration from his messages and life.”

He stressed on the need of making efforts to improve the educational system to inculcate strong values, ethical conduct and commitment towards the welfare of the society.

He hailed the initiative of the Central Vigilance Commission to promote “integrity club” in schools and colleges.

The Vice President said that presence of a strong civil society, including a free press and independent judiciary, were important for good governance.

“The recent policy interventions including tax reforms could contribute to societal transformation. Why the people welcomed demonetisation though painful for them (is) because they could understand the temporary pain is for long term gain.”