Thaindian News

New Delhi, Aug 25 (IANS) Admitting that he “might have made mistakes”, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday denied accusations of “conniving with corruption” and invited the opposition to probe any wealth amassed by him for his family.

Replying to the debate in the Lok Sabha on corruption Thursday, the prime minister said: “In the years left the government would do everything possible to cleanse the system”.

“We need to find credible solutions to deal with the scourge of corruption,” he said.

Referring to the Lokpal bill and urging Anna Hazare to give up his 10-day fast, the prime minster suggested that the house debate all the versions of the Lokpal bill and send its recommendations to the standing committee looking into the issue.

“We will work with single-minded devotion to leave behind a strong Lokpal Bill which will be a challenge to corruption,” said the prime minister.

Referring to the “personal attack” on him by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Murli Manohar Joshi “that he knowingly connived with corruption of his cabinet colleagues” the prime minister said it was beneath his dignity to respond to accusations on issues being examined by the PAC (Public Accounts Committee) and the Supreme Court.

The prime minister said he never used harsh language in describing the conduct of other members despite many accusations in the past.

“In the 41 years of my public life, I have served the country to the best of my ability,” said the prime minister, inviting Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj to probe any wealth amassed by him for his family.

Stating that corruption was a multi-faceted problem, the prime minister said both the centre and the states had the responsibility to find effective means to tackle it.

Agreeing that people were angry with corruption, the prime minister said “we need to clean up the system for our children.”

According to Manmohan Singh, reforms in the licensing system, import and foreign exchange controls had reduced corruption to an extent but taxation issues needed attention.

He said leakages in the central schemes being implemented by the states like the public distribution system and infrastructure development need further reform.