JOIN USNext target benami transactions: Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday told BJP parliamentarians that the government’s next crackdown would be on benami or proxy-owned property.
Vowing to rid the country of corruption, he said banning Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes was only the beginning of a mega fight against black money in all its forms.
By stating so, the prime minister sought to send out a strong signal that he was not on the back foot following reports of cash crunch in parts of the country due to demonetisation and fears within the BJP of an adverse fallout in the elections in Uttar Pradesh and other states early next year.
“We do not think in parts. There is a full-scale design (to fully eradicate black money). It is only that we show our cards gradually,” he said.
“If the middle class is to be rid of exploitation and the poor are to be restored their rights, then courageous decisions will have to be taken to eradicate black money and corruption,” he said.
His government, Modi asserted, will take action against benami transactions and then the Congress will again shout that it is a “very hasty” decision.
He accused the Congress of being a “votary of corruption”. It had made a law against benami assets in 1988 but never notified it or framed rules, ensuring that the legislation never came into force. “For us, the country’s interests are always above the party’s. For Congress, the party’s interests are above the country’s,” the prime minister said.
Though it is not the first time Modi has spoken about action on benami property, he appeared to underscore the fact that his government had already strengthened the institutional framework for this purpose. His government had amended the original Benami Transactions Act 1988 to make the existing law more stringent.
Under the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016, which came into force on November 1, a transaction is named ‘benami’ if the property is held by one person, but has been provided or paid for by another person.
The Act prohibits recovery of the property held benami from benamidar by the real owner. Also, benami properties are liable for confiscation.
The Prime Minister’s Office has been gathering reports about black money finding a safe haven in properties in Delhi, the NCR region and Tier II, Tier III towns, under unknown names to escape the law.
As the winter session of Parliament turned out be a virtual washout following the impasse over debate on demonetisation, Modi said the Opposition’s criticism of the note ban showed their support for the “dishonest and corrupt”.
He also attacked former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who had called demonetisation an “organised plunder and legalised loot”. He quoted Singh’s comments made in 1991 to say that he once used the “language of threat” against tax evaders but his voice has completely changed now.
Modi also blamed Indira Gandhi for causing huge losses to the country by not implementing demonetisation in 1971. “We needed to do it in 1971. We have caused huge losses by not doing this since 1971.”