No friends nor enemies in corporate sector: FM

NEW DELHI: Asserting that he has no friends in the corporate sector, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday said in the Rajya Sabha that the cases of all those named in the CAG report for underassessment of tax would be reopened.

Rebutting the charge of Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh that the UPA government was selective with regard to income tax raids, Chidambaram said, "I have neither friends nor enemies in the corporate sector.

"You know, everybody knows that when a CAG paragraph is there, immeditely section 147 notice is issued and assessments are reopened. There is no friend, There is no enemy," he said.

Recently, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India said in its report that big corporate houses, including Reliance Industries and Tata Motors, were underassessed resulting in a short levy of taxes exceeding Rs 1,000 crore.

Besides, the CAG named cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar who were given exemptions by the IT authorities. However, the government clarified that the cricketers were being asked to pay their dues.