Editor,
India has slid down eight places from 85 to 93 in the 2023 Corruption Perception Index. Interestingly, it happened while following a zero tolerance policy for corruption at the lower level.
While an aggregate amount of Rs 14.56 lakh crore NPAs has been written off during the last nine financial years, many poor families have to bear the burnt of a policy to keep a tight rein on spending for them under the guise of checking corruption. As a result, many MGNREGA workers are not getting their due wages in West Bengal.
The Supreme Court of India has rightly pointed out that anonymous donations by the rich to the ruling party in electoral bonds could help them influence policymaking. First, the corruption at higher levels must be stopped because corruption pollutes the creamy layer first rather than the poor. It is said that a fish rots from the head down.
Sujit De,
Kolkata