CBI's key responsibility is to free India from corruption: PM Modi

New Delhi: Corruption is the biggest roadblock to democracy and justice and the CBI's key responsibility is to free India from it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday.

Addressing a gathering at the diamond jubilee celebrations of the Central Bureau of Investigation, the prime minister stressed that his government does not lack the political will to fight corruption. The desire of the country and its citizens, he added, is that no corrupt person should be spared.

"Corruption is not just a small crime. It snatches the rights of the poor and that lead to the birth of many criminals," Modi said.

The government, he said, had started action against black money and benami property on mission mode. "Besides the corrupt, we are fighting causes of corruption," he said.

Building a developed India is not possible without professional and efficient institutions and the CBI therefore has a huge responsibility, Modi said.

Even today, when a case remains unsolved, there are demands it should be handed over to the CBI, the prime minister said.

The CBI has given faith to people through its work and techniques, he said.

Wherever there is corruption, youth don't get equal opportunities and just one special eco-system gets emboldened, he stated.

Terming corruption the biggest enemy of merit, Modi said it encourages nepotism and dynastic rule. When these two increase, the country's strength gets affected, and when strength is weakened, it impacts development, he said.

For decades, the prime minister added, the corrupt have created ways to loot the country's riches, and this was done by robbing government wealth.

Today, through 'Jandhan' bank accounts, which link Aaadhar cards and mobile phones, beneficiaries get their full rights, he said.