One-third Indians are corrupt statement irks Law Minister

New Delhi: As an exit interview, it was a pretty damning one.  When Pratyush Sinha retired as India's Chief Vigilance Commissioner, he said that one-third of all Indians are corrupt, many others are borderline, and that his job had been a "thankless" one. (Read: 30% Indians totally corrupt, 50% borderline, says outgoing CVC chief)

Now, Law Minister Veerappa Moily has suggested that Sinha needs to drop his holier-than-thou stand. "Having held an office where they could have made a difference but failed to do so, some bureaucrats become saints after retirement," the minister said.   "Recently ... I read a newspaper in which a top-notch Indian Bureaucrat who recently retired was quoted as saying that every third Indian is corrupt. I am deeply hurt and upset by this - because of a few black sheep, you cannot call the whole country corrupt or condemn the government," he added. 

Sinha may have caught the attention of the country with his pie-chart of corruption in India, but it was a miscalculation on several fronts, says Moily.  "This is a statement made by a frustrated person. I will not call this treason or sedition but it comes close to it," the minister said.