PM Modi's 'dynastic corruption' response to Sonia Gandhi's 'democracy under assault' charge
28-October-2020

A day after Congress president Sonia Gandhi targeted the Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre, saying that the democratic system in India was under threat, the Prime Minister on Tuesday responded by describing 'dynastic corruption' as a major challenge for the country.

In a veiled but blunt message, PM Modi said generations of corruption has become a part of political tradition in many states.

"Today, I am going to mention another big challenge before you. This challenge has been gradually growing in the past decades and has taken a formidable form in the country. This is the challenge of dynastic corruption (bhrashtachar ka vanshwaad), that is, corruption which is carried forward by one generation after another," PM Modi said speaking in Hindi after inaugurating the national conference on vigilance and anti-corruption in New Delhi.

"Fighting corruption is not a job of a single agency but is a collective responsibility," he added, while asserting that there is a need to have systemic checks, effective audits, capacity building and training against corruption.

In an article in Hindustan Times on Monday, Sonia Gandhi said that the "world�s largest democracy is at the crossroads."

"The fundamental right to freedom of expression has been systematically suspended through suppression and intimidation. Dissent is deliberately stifled as �terrorism� or branded as an �anti-national activity�, Gandhi wrote in her opinion piece.