BJP attacks UPA on black money in Swiss banks

India?s main Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for covering up names of people who have piled black money in Swiss banks.

?The indictment of the Central Govt. by the Supreme Court on the issue of revealing the names of the people whose ill-gotten money is stashed in the Swiss Banks is shocking. It is intriguing that there is no response from the Government on the issue,? said BJP national spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy.

?The Prime Minister had earlier committed to the nation that he would initiate steps to recover more than one lakh crores of rupees illegally stashed in the Swiss Banks within 100 days of assuming power. The Prime Minister is quiet, the Government is quiet.

?So much so that Shri Shanta Kumar, Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha and also the former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh had raised this issue while attending a UN Convention on Corruption. He said India, after signing the Treaty, is one of the few countries which has not yet ratified the Convention.?

?Over and above, the Swiss Ambassador has categorically stated that there is no request whatsoever from the Indian Government to reveal the names of those people whose money has been kept in the Swiss Banks. An absolute inaction in this regard makes the Manmohan Singh Government culpable,? said Rudy.

The BJP MP said a situation has come where the government is ?overtly and covertly attempting to cover up the black money?. The defensive stance taken by the govt. brings its intentions and motivations under a cloud, he said.

?The situation is all the more intriguing where the Supreme Court has asked the Government what the difficulty is in disclosing the names of the people who have stashed a very huge amount of money in Swiss Banks and German Banks in Leichtenstein. While on 30th July, 2009, the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, had categorically told the Rajya Sabha that action has already started for getting back the money belonging to Indians from Swiss Banks.

?The Prime Minister on that day in Rajya Sabha had suo motu intervened to refer to the statement of the Finance Minister in his reply to the Finance Bill in the House and had stated that the Finance Minister had specifically dealt with this aspect and had said that action has already started,? said Rudy.

The BJP leader said it is noteworthy whether it is 2G scam, whether it is Swiss Bank money or any other issue related to corruption under UPA, the Supreme Court has been compelled to intervene. ?This completely indicates the failure of the UPA Government on all fronts whether it is corruption or price rise. The BJP is concerned over all these issues which concern the nation.?

?The Bharatiya Janata Party in the light of the remarks of the Hon. Supreme Court would like the Prime Minister to clarify whether he chose to mislead the House by making a statement which has been contradicted by the Supreme Court. It is a matter of propriety and also a matter of privilege of the House. The BJP would want a straight answer from the Prime Minister,? said Rudy.