Advani asks govt to expose the corrupt

Senior BJP leader says Rs 25 lakh crore stashed away in foreign banks

“I want your assurance and an oath after the debate that you will come out with the names of tax evaders. Convince the House, convince the nation that you will play all your cards to bring back the black money stashed in foreign banks,” Advani said addressing Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee after moving an adjournment motion “regarding the situation arising out of money deposited illegally in foreign banks and action taken against guilty persons” in the Lok Sabha.

The government had conceded to the BJP’s demand for an adjournment motion, after the principal opposition party had agreed to change its wordings in the motion to accommodate the sensibilities of the ruling Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA). The motion omitted a reference to the failure of the government.  The BJP parliamentary party chief, however, insisted that the admission of the motion was itself reflective of the government’s failure on the issue “no matter even if the wording of the motion has undergone a change.

Adjournment motion is a failure of the government and your (Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar) acceptance only testifies my view that it the government’s failure”.

Advani quoted Global Financial Integrity, a Washington DC based research and advocacy organization, to claim that the black money illegally stashed in Swiss banks by Indians amounted to about Rs 25 lakh crore. He alleged that the government had kept secret the rolls of people with black money stashed abroad.

“Tell the world that we are willing to place all the cards on the table. We have nothing to hide,” Advani appealed to  Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee present in the House. “Reveal the names you have. It will be a humiliation if we do not get to know them from our prime minister or our finance minister and come to know from the Wikileaks as Julius Assange said he has the names and would reveal them in 2012,” the senior BJP leader said.

Quoting Supreme Court, Advani said the government’s failure to take action against the culprits proved that the India had become a ‘Soft State’. “Even the Supreme Court has felt the government has not been as proactive on the matter as it should have been. We want the government to publish a white paper on black money at the earliest,” Advani said. 

Advani wanted to know as to why the Government was not making public the list it received from foreign governments containing names of 16 to 18 people, who had kept unaccounted money in banks in Liechtenstein. He also claimed that the Swiss government, too, was willing to reveal names of illegal account holders to the interested countries.

The BJP heavyweight said France had 600-700 names of Indians having ill-gotten wealth abroad. “Do not protect them. If any name belongs to us, please reveal that too.” He suggested all the MPs should submit affidavits to the Lok Sabha Speaker declaring that they did not have any illegal account in any foreign bank.