Pledge about Corruption

It is heartening to note the pledge made by Assam Chief Minister Sarbanda Sonowal on the State government’s role in tackling corruption. Speaking at the Legislative Assembly on Monday, Sonowal made it clear that his regime will not tolerate corruption in any form, be it nepotism or fincial mismagement in any area. There are already some visible signs of this actually happening. Since his government came to power, as many as 184 government officials, contractors and other functiories (like panchayat members) have been arrested in connection with various corruption charges. The total number of cases filed is 403. While on the subject of corruption, the Chief Minister also urged the Opposition to refrain from “opening up the chapter on corruption” by saying that previous governments in the State were not entirely spotless as far as corruption was concerned. “The Opposition has talked about alleged syndicates in coal and about corruption in the Agriculture department. Let me state categorically that we are committed to the people of Assam and that I did not become the Chief Minister of the State to do anything to shake the trust bestowed upon me by the 3.3 crore citizens of Assam,” he said. The people of Assam would like to see the cartels and syndicates dismantled as swiftly as possible. And most people do appreciate that the business of cleaning up the house may take a little time, but that this is an uvoidable requirement that leads to much more efficient functioning thereafter.