THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Corruption is not confined to bribery but includes everything, from delaying official action and denying timely services to allowing official ego to dictate public service, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said on Wednesday as he launched ‘Project Zero — Vigilance Whistle’, a statewide campaign against corruption.
The campaign aims to mobilise young people to become the state’s first line of defence against corruption. Actor Nivin Pauly was named the first Vigilance Commando.
“Justice delayed is justice denied. There should be no room for officers to postpone action or refuse services over personal ego or perceived disrespect from members of the public. Today’s youth doesn’t tolerate corruption. If youngsters join the government to wipe out corruption, no one would dare to commit corruption,” Chennithala said.
The state-level inauguration of the campaign, jointly organised by the vigilance department and the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, was held at Loyola School auditorium, Thiruvananthapuram. With ‘Youth Against Corruption’ as the motto, the campaign introduced the Blow the Whistle initiative, encouraging citizens to report corruption, along with a network of Vigilance Commandos.
In a light-hearted moment, Chennithala, after initially mispronouncing the actor’s name, asked the audience to loudly say the “first Vigilance Commando’s name”, admitted his mistake, called Nivin an “action hero”, and formally conferred the ‘Vigilance Commando’ badge on him.
The minister, Nivin, and hundreds of students then blew ‘vigilance whistles’ together to launch the campaign. Students were also presented with Vigilance Commando badges.
Addressing the gathering, Nivin described ‘Project Zero’ as a significant beginning in the fight against corruption. “A society survives on its faith in the rule of law, and once that faith is lost, society begins to crumble. Corruption is not confined to bribery but also includes denying opportunities to others and taking shortcuts for personal gain,” he said.
Kazhakoottam MLA V Muraleedharan said corruption often begins with small compromises that eventually grow into larger failures of governance. Young people, he said, are the driving force behind social change and must question practices that normalise corruption if Kerala is to fully realise its development potential.