Former Ayukta upset with rising corruption

NT Correspondent
Bengaluru

Former state Lokayukta Justice N. Santosh Hegde raised concerns about the rising corruption and claimed he felt despondent by the nation’s future. During his address at a felicitation ceremony in Vivekananda College of Law (VCL) on Friday, he said, “There is corruption in the system because people in power misuse their position to gain wealth. It is the responsibility of everyone to create wealth only by using legitimate means.”

He exhorted the students to work for the welfare of society. “We come across cases of corruption, and it disheartens me where the nation is headed. Young people should serve the country and work towards the progress of our society,” he added. He also shared that he is satisfied with the improvement of legal studies in India.

“There are a lot of young bright minds around us. They need to be guided in the right direction. I am satisfied with the quality of legal studies in universities. It has improved quite a lot in recent years,” he said while addressing the gathering.

Justice Hegde was the chief guest for the event that was organised to felicitate Rajesh Ponnappa, an alumnus of the college, for getting third rank in KSLU (Karnataka State Law University) and 222nd rank in UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) exams. S. T. Narayan Gowda, vice president, Janatha Education Society (JES) and donor of the law college, and M. R. Laxmi Manohar, chairman, governing council, VCL, were also present at the event. The ceremony was presided over by H.G. Balagopal, secretary, JES, Law Forum, VCL.

The guests congratulated Ponnappa for his achievements and wished him luck for the future. “I want to serve the nation. It was always my dream to become an officer, and I was able to achieve my dreams due to the excellent faculty at VCL,” said Rajesh in his speech. The ceremony was attended by college students, faculty and staff.