Coimbatore: Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit today attributed the country’s lagging behind China and Japan in progress to corruption.

In his address after inaugurating the Mahatma Gandhi Central Library and Gnana Sabai (Meditation Centre) at Kumaraguru College of Technology here, he said that during Independence the vision was a country where everybody was treated equal and there was no preference on the basis of caste and religion. “In the transparency chart, we are not there. Japan and China progressed a lot compared to our country. The problem is corruption which prevailed all these days. That’s why vision is not yet seen,” he said.

He asked students to be honest and lead a simple life. “Now, it is your responsibility to make the country visible. All of us have to be honest. Be honest and people will respect you,” he said.