|
Hon’ble Speaker Lok Sabha Shri Somnath Chatterjee,
Minister of State for Personnel, Shri Suresh Pachauri, Central
Vigilance Commissioner, Shri P. Shankar, Secretary Personnel,
Shri A.N. Tiwari, former Directors of CBI, Chiefs of Central
Police Organisations, family members of Shri D.P. Kohli, distinguished
guests, friends from the media, Ladies & Gentlemen.
2. It is my proud privilege to welcome you all to the 6th
D.P. Kohli Memorial Lecture. This occasion marks the foundation
day of the Central Bureau of Investigation and as part of
annual celebrations, we have been organising D.P. Kohli Memorial
Lectures for the past six years.
3. Shri D.P. Kohli headed the Delhi Special Police Establishment
from July, 1955 to March, 1963. On creation of CBI on 1st
April, 1963 he became its founder Director, a position which
he held for 5 years. Shri D.P. Kohli served CBI with great
dignity and distinction. He was an institution builder par-excellence.
During his stewardship of CBI, he laid strong foundations
for this organisation to emerge as a National Investigating
Agency. Shri Kohli was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1967 in
recognition of his outstanding contribution to Indian Police
in general and the Central Bureau of Investigation in particular.
If today, the Central Bureau of Investigation is able to cope
with the multifarious duties and the accompanying pressures,
it is because of the strength of the system that he built
up along with his dedicated colleagues. Shri Kohli used to
tell his colleagues (I quote) "the public expect the
highest standard from you both in efficiency and integrity.
If the faith is to be sustained, the motto of CBI ‘Industry’,
‘Impartiality’ and ‘Integrity’ must
guide your work. Loyalty to duty must come first everywhere
and at all times and in all circumstances". This Memorial
Lecture is a fitting tribute to Shri D.P. Kohli.
4. During his tenure in C.B.I., Shri Kohli always laid emphasis
on team work in crime investigation. He recognised the important
role played by Constables and Head Constables in the organisation.
In this regard he instituted annual awards to Constables and
Head Constables for outstanding detective work. This award
will be presented today. This is an opportunity for all of
us to remember the priceless contribution of Shri D.P. Kohli
to Central Bureau of Investigation.
5. This year, we have decided to honour all the former Directors
of C.B.I. All of them, in their own different ways, have contributed
to the growth of professional excellence and credibility that
C.B.I. enjoys today. Each former Director has left his distinct
imprint which has enriched the organisation. I take this opportunity
to once again extend a warm welcome to all the former Directors
of C.B.I. present here today.
6. We are especially honoured that the Hon’ble Speaker,
Lok Sabha, Shri Somnath Chatterjee will deliver the 6th D.P.
Kohli Memorial Lecture on the topic ‘Parliamentary Democracy
in India – Present and Future’. Shri Somnath Chatterjee
does not need any introduction. He is one of the most distinguished
Parliamentarians, India has produced. His contribution to
Parliamentary debates as well as public discourse in India
has been peerless. He commands respect through the sheer force
of his personality and erudition. In public life, he has never
compromised on principles. He has spoken fearlessly on various
issues with the precision which comes from his training as
a Barrister. He is one of the rare individuals who live by
the courage of their convictions.
7. I also wish to take this opportunity to briefly touch
upon the path C.B.I. has traversed over the last 42 years.
C.B.I. has grown vastly since the days of Shri D.P. Kohli
and undergone major transformation with regard to its role
and responsibilities. From being an Anti-corruption Organisation
established to investigate irregularities in War and Supply
department during World War II, CBI has grown into a Multi-Disciplinary
investigation agency. Apart from corruption cases, we are
now investigating crimes involving national security, economic
crimes, violation of human rights, Cyber crime, wildlife crime,
narcotics, counterfeit currency, etc. Today, we have experts
from Banking, Customs, Income-Tax, Railways, Engineering and
other departments, assisting in investigation work. C.B.I.
has three distinct Divisions namely – Anti-corruption
Division, Special Crime Division and Economic Offences Division
as well as a separate Directorate of Prosecution. However,
needless to say, the main focus of our efforts is the area
of corruption. There can be no two opinions that in the last
50 years, there has been a cancerous growth of corruption
in the country. The idealism generated in the Society and
body-politic during the freedom struggle has waned considerably
leading to corruption. Within the constraints of our present
legal system, CBI has done yeoman service by detecting and
investigating corruption in high places. During the past couple
of years we have devised a strategy of Special Drives wherein
simultaneous searches are conducted all over the country against
corrupt officials. This strategy has had a definite impact
on corruption.
8. As I mentioned earlier, C.B.I., as an organisation has
diversified and entered into new areas of crime investigation.
Further, over the years, Constitutional Courts have mandated
C.B.I. to investigate complicated cases with inter-state and
international ramification. As a Law Enforcement agency, C.B.I.
has also come under intense critical review of public, the
media and judiciary. On occasions, C.B.I. is unjustly criticised
for alleged lapses without realising that we are just one
facet of criminal justice system. Even the most thoroughly
investigated case can be adversely affected due to delays
inherent in the trial process. However, I have no hesitation
in saying that in spite of occasional shortcomings, C.B.I.
enjoys high credibility among citizens of this country. On
a special occasion like this, all C.B.I. officers need to
rededicate themselves to persue professional excellence. Our
motto – Industry, Impartiality and Integrity, so imaginatively
coined by Shri D.P. Kohli should always be our guiding principle.
9. The unleashing of the forces of liberalization, privatization
and globalization has added an irrepressibly urgent edge to
life as we know it. In the sixties and seventies, crime and
law and order were predominantly pedestrian and local affairs.
And most important of all, compared to today, the act of crime
was a slow affair. There was ample time to plan an investigation
and take justice to the offenders. But today, with a few clicks
of a mouse in a remote corner of the country one can plunge
the financial system in Bombay and other financial nodes in
the country nay internationally into a severe crisis. The
criminal class of all stripes and shades-militants, terrorists,
cyber criminals, fraudsters, organized criminals etc. have
availed of the benefits of the technological revolution to
facilitate and to anonymize their crimes. This has made it
imperative for a law enforcement agency like CBI to avail
of the latest technological applications to bring justice
home to the criminals of the day.
10. All of us present here are eager to hear Shri Somnath
Chatterjee speak on the topic ‘Parliamentary Democracy
in India – Present and Future’. India has survived
as a nation due to our system of Parliamentary Democracy.
In fact, there are no precedents in human history for working
democracy of over a billion people living in a society of
great diversities and infinite varieties. In a multi-religious,
multi-linguistic, multi-ethnic and multi-regional society
without a parallel anywhere Parliamentary democracy has been
both a vehicle for representation and also an instrument for
empowerment. The record of relatively young Indian national
state in managing these bewildering array of diversities amidst
trials and tribulations is one of the major achievements of
contemporary times that has great lessons for the rest of
the world. The credit for this inevitably goes to the structure
of our democratic fabric carefully designed and handed over
to us by our founding fathers, individuals of exceptional
ability and unusual acumen.
11. Our Parliament represents India in all its splendour
and diversity. Our pluralist ethos is constantly reinforced
through Parliamentary system of Democracy. George Bernand
Shaw had once said that there is always a small percentage
of people who have natural talent for politics and the system
must be so devised as to catch such natural talent inherent
in any country. Without doubt, our Parliament, especially
in the initial years of independence, was a glittering forum
for such talent. But the quality, composition, functions and
discourse in Parliament have transformed over the years. Shri
Somnath Chatterjee is ideally qualified to analyse such changes
and also look into the future.
12. The future of Parliamentary democracy in India is very
bright. The composition of present Lok Sabha is perhaps a
reflection of shape of things to come. We have a new generation
of young Parliamentarians who truly represent the changing
demographic profile of India. They come with excellent professional
qualifications and have chosen politics as a vocation, disregarding
good career opportunities elsewhere. For this you don’t
have to look around. Amongst us here on the dais is our Minister,
Shri Suresh Pachauri who being a mechanical engineer has taken
to politics as main avocation. They are fired with a vision
of India as a modern developed nation state. With such a talented
pool of young Parliamentarians being guided by stalwarts like
Shri Somnath Chatterjee and others, the future of Parliamentary
democracy in India is in safe and excellent hands.
13. With these words I have great pleasure in welcoming the
Hon’ble Speaker Shri Somnath Chatterjee, MOS(PP), Shri
Suresh Pachauri, Central Vigilance Commissioner, Secretary
Personnel, particularly former Directors of CBI who have so
kindly agreed to attend this function, members of D.P. Kohli
family, distinguished guests and all others. I thank you all
for making this function a success.
|
