The Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh urged the investigating agencies to strike a balance ' in analyzing and scrutinizing complex decisions pertaining to policy formulation and implementation' and that 'honest officers are not harassed for bonafide mistakes that they might make while taking well-meaning decisions.' He called for a moderation in public debate on corruption.

The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Shusma Swaraj differing from the views expressed by the Prime Minister, however, said that she does not believe that investigation into corruption charges can impede the process of development.

Inaugurating of the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the CVC, here on Tuesday, President that the four major causes of corruption identified by the Santhanam Committee which led to the setting up of CVC by a resolution of the Parliament in February 11, 1964 have not yet been removed.

'The sad reality is that none of these problems have gone away. Fifty years later, they continue to plague our governance system, ' he said.

The Santhanam Committee identified four major causes of corruption, namely administrative delays, Government taking upon itself more than what it could manage by way of regulatory functions, scope for personal discretion in the exercise of powers vested in different categories of Government servants and cumbersome procedures in dealing with various matters which were of importance to citizens in their day to day affairs.

' As I have said elsewhere, corruption is a cancer that erodes our democracy and weakens the foundations of our state,' the President said and added : ' I call upon the CVC to lead the way in cleansing our Government and contribute to reversing the cynicism of public towards Government functionaries.'

' We have all been witness to the huge public outcry over corruption in recent times. The air is thick with despair and cynicism. There is urgent need to restore the faith of our people in our governance system and the credibility of our institutions, ' President Mukherjee said.

Referring to the former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and crediting him for setting up the CVC, the President said : 'The fact that corruption has proved to be intractable should not make us lose confidence in our abilities to address this problem.'

While corruption is a global phenomenon, rapidly growing developing countries like India face a particularly difficult challege. 'Ensuring sustainable growth, eliminating poverty, raising the quality of life, promoting industrialization, providing jobs etc. require quick decision making by the Executive. If the Executive has to deliver results and demonstrate efficient governance, it needs to have substantial financial powers. At the same time, provision of such financial powers and administrative discretion in governance gives rise to opportunities for nepotism and corruption,' President said.

'The CVC must expeditiously investigate all allegations of corruption without fear or favour. It must, at the same time ensure that vilification campaigns to destroy reputations and careers are not carried out in the name of checking corruption. The CVC should be an ally to good governance and facilitate speedy, responsible and bold decision making in the interests of the country. Members of the CVC and its staff must also set an example by maintaining the highest standards of probity in the discharge of their functions,' he said.

The President noted : 'Corruption remains a major stumbling block in the progress of our nation. It has increased transaction costs, reduced efficiency of public services, distorted decision making processes and undermined the moral fibre of our society. Corruption has reinforced inequities and limited access to public services by the common man, especially the poor.'

Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh said : 'It is important to remember that the ultimate aim of any anti-corruption mechanism is to contribute towards improvement of the processes of governance and delivery of services. This can happen only when we encourage bold and innovative decision making. Therefore, we must make sure that honest officers are not harassed for bonafide mistakes that they might make while taking well-meaning decisions.'

He further said : 'we must ensure the championing of the cause of the man of integrity in all our institutions. In the scenario in which this does not happen, decision making would suffer badly and instead of improving the processes of governance, we would end up stifling them.......Maintaining this balance necessarily involves a high degree of expertise in analyzing and scrutinizing complex decisions pertaining to policy formulation and implementation.'

However, the Leader of the Opposition Shusma Swaraj deffered with the Prime Minster and said that investigations into corruption charges cannot impede the process of development.

Another balance that agencies like the CVC ought to maintain is between the need to be careful and detailed and the need for speed. Matters like disciplinary proceedings and grant of vigilance clearance must be disposed of in time. Excessive delays make such exercises meaningless, the Prime Minister said.

Defending the allegations of corruption made against his government in public, the Prime Minister said : 'There is a need for moderation in the public debate about corruption as well. In the past few years, we have been witnessing a very vigorous public debate in our country on matters relating to corruption, with accusations flying thick and fast. While informed discussion on such matters is certainly desirable, much too often we see a trivialisation of complex public policy issues. This is accompanied by unwarranted condemnation of the decisions taken and imputation of guilt and malafide on the part of those who took those decisions. I sincerely think there is a need to change this state of affairs.'

However, the President view the role of civil society and 'new' media with favour. He said : 'As has been seen in recent times, civil society and media, especially the ‘new’ media, can be initiators of positive change as well as force multipliers.'

Elaborating on the freedom given to investigation agencies, the Prime Minister said : 'Investigating agencies have always enjoyed complete autonomy in investigation of criminal cases. Our Government has also been willing to do more to insulate the CBI from extraneous influences. However, it is also necessary to ensure that the political executive exercises the oversight that it is expected to in a democratic polity over any investigating agency.'