CPI(M) MLA Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami said on Thursday some immediate confidence-building measures were required as the youth of Jammu and Kashmir had lost faith in the recruitment process for state government jobs in the absence of transparency.

In a statement, Tarigami endorsed the recent statement of Governor Satyapal Malik about rampant corruption and nepotism and described it as the “tip of iceberg”. Such exposures by state administrative chief would have been sufficient enough for many big heads to roll, he said.

“There is no doubt corruption is one of the biggest issues in the state where it has spread its tentacles very deep and is at every level affecting all spheres of life. The magnitude of corruption prevalent in the state administration is huge and rampant. The fatal disease of corruption, bribery, nepotism and cronyism has plagued virtually most of the institutions,” said Tarigami.

The Government recently established the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) to fight corruption. “But the reality is that it is just change of nomenclature. People want action on ground as there is need for immediate treatment to get rid of corruption and nepotism,” said the CPM leader.

He added: “While the high-level corruption has invaded all spheres of public life, the common man is faced with petty corruption in their daily lives, which often deprives them of their basic entitlements like food, jobs, education and health. Due to the rampant corruption, common man has to face harassment and indignity of paying bribes in their daily lives for getting what they are entitled to. It is the institutionalized corruption at the top which creates and sustains the petty corruption at the lower levels.” Tarigami said the loot of public funds at the top had a direct bearing on the lives of people as they were deprived of the benefits of health, education and other basic services.

He said successive regimes in the state had weakened the institutions like Assembly, where discussions and debates on these issues would have been happening.

“The CPI(M) sees the fight against corruption as multi-dimensional. The public must know who these bigwigs are and what treatment they would be getting for committing such unpardonable sins landing the entire administrative system in state of non-performance, arrogance and systemic corruption. Only a strong and sustained mass movement can help in fighting the menace of corruption from the society,” Tarigami added.