Gadkari hits out at govt on black money charge

NEW DELHI: The Opposition on Tuesday dared the Manmohan Singh government to make public the names of Indians who have stashed away black money in tax havens.

BJP President Nitin Gadkari alleged that the government’s reluctance to disclose names points the needle of suspicion towards it.

“I appeal to the government, that whoever has stashed black money in Swiss banks, their names must be released. And if they are not releasing the names, then it means that the government is scared that they will be brought into the scandal,” Gadkari said in Bhubaneswar.

On Sunday, senior BJP leader LK Advani had asked why the government was not trying to retrieve the money from secret accounts in Swiss banks. Advani had written this in a blog close on the heels of the apex court asking the government counsel what was the difficulty in disclosing the information it had.

The BJP and Left mounted pressure on the government after Wikileaks founder Julius Assange said 2,000 names of people holding accounts in Swiss banks will be made public. The individuals involved are from the US, Britain and Asia. Gadkari said he had proof of government’s involvement. “Why would national interest get damaged if names of the people dealing in black money were to be divulged? How does national interest play a part in this, he asked. The BJP also cited the case of Germany and asked the government to get back the money. In the Capital, BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad, who demanded that the UPA to get “pro-active” on the matter.

However, he evaded questions on what steps the NDA regime had taken to retrieve the money. The CPI too asked the government whom it was trying to defend by not disclosing the names. “All these accounts should be confiscated and used for the common good of the nation,” the party said.