Union Food Minister Piyush Goyal stated on Saturday, alluding to the recent CBI raids on Food Corporation of India (FCI) employees, that if any person or organisation engages in corruption, the “strictest” action will be taken against them.
Goyal chose the 59th Foundation Day of the FCI to deliver the message and urged senior officials not to “spare” anyone engaging in unethical acts.
The minister declared to the officials through videoconferencing, “It is our duty to take the harshest action against any person or entity that engages in corruption.”
In light of the current CBI crackdown on alleged corruption in the FCI, with the arrest of a deputy general manager-level FCI officer and the owner of a private firm from Chandigarh for allegedly taking and providing a bribe of Rs 50,000, Goyal’s words take on greater relevance. On Wednesday, the agency searched 50 places in Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi and retrieved Rs 80 lakh from the premises. As part of its probe into the “corrupt syndicate” comprising FCI officials, rice mill owners, and grain merchants, the CBI searched 19 additional locations on Friday, made another arrest, and confiscated Rs 23 lakh, according to officials.
Goyal described recent events at the FCI as a “wake-up call” and stated, “We cannot allow any corrupt individuals in the FCI. We must embrace a policy of zero tolerance for corruption.” “Whatever has occurred recently has cast serious doubt on the institution of FCI,” he stated.
The minister stated that the FCI’s “transformation” should be expedited so the organisation can continue assisting the nation’s impoverished and farmers.
He requested that Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra monitor the transformation of FCI and Central Warehousing Corporation every week and provide biweekly updates. He stated that officers who do not participate or hinder the change process must be punished severely.
In addition, he instructed the Food Secretary to institutionalise a framework that rewards whistleblowers and asked all FCI officers and staff to report any instances of corruption.
Minister of State Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, FCI Chairman and Managing Director Ashok K Meena, and other key officials also attended the occasion.
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