Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, right, Congress party president Sonia Gandhi, center and Indian Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, left, look on during the swearing in ceremony of newly appointed ministers in New Delhi on January 19. India’s embattled prime minister shuffled his government Wednesday, juggling portfolios and replacing the sports minister after a corruption scandal involving last year’s Commonwealth Games. (AP Photo)
New Delhi, January 19 (PTI): Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said there is “no instant solution” to bring back black money stashed in foreign banks and that information with Government cannot be made public due to treaty obligations.
“There is no instant solution to bring back what is called black money. We have got some information and that has been provided to us for use in the collection of due taxes,” he told reporters at the Rashtrapati Bhavan after a rejig of some portfolios and new inductions, the first such exercise in his second term in office.
His comments came close on the heels of the Supreme Court pulling up the government for withholding information on black money stashed in foreign banks, saying it is not just limited to tax evasion but a “mind boggling crime” amounting to “theft” and “plunder” of national wealth having security ramifications.
Noting that he was not aware of what the apex court has said, Mr. Singh said “we cannot use the information for any other purposes and that information cannot be made public” as the country cannot violate the obligations under international treaties.
The apex court’s observation came while hearing a petition filed by noted criminal lawyer Ram Jethmalani, who along with some retired bureaucrats and police officers, approached it seeking directions to the government to take steps to bring black money to the tune of one trillion dollars stashed in foreign bank back to the country. The Centre’s contention before the court is that it was case of tax evasion and it cannot make public the names of Indian account holders.
“There is no instant solution to bring back what is called black money. We have got some information and that has been provided to us for use in the collection of due taxes,” he told reporters at the Rashtrapati Bhavan after a rejig of some portfolios and new inductions, the first such exercise in his second term in office.
His comments came close on the heels of the Supreme Court pulling up the government for withholding information on black money stashed in foreign banks, saying it is not just limited to tax evasion but a “mind boggling crime” amounting to “theft” and “plunder” of national wealth having security ramifications.
Noting that he was not aware of what the apex court has said, Mr. Singh said “we cannot use the information for any other purposes and that information cannot be made public” as the country cannot violate the obligations under international treaties.
The apex court’s observation came while hearing a petition filed by noted criminal lawyer Ram Jethmalani, who along with some retired bureaucrats and police officers, approached it seeking directions to the government to take steps to bring black money to the tune of one trillion dollars stashed in foreign bank back to the country. The Centre’s contention before the court is that it was case of tax evasion and it cannot make public the names of Indian account holders.
Cabinet reshuffle will not help: Advani
Ahmedabad, January 19 (PTI): Senior BJP leader L K Advani on Tuesday downplayed cabinet reshuffling of the Union Council of Ministers, saying the exercise will not help as “this government is already involved in numerous scams”. In a reply to a question on reported cabinet expansion plans of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the veteran BJP leader said, “When this government is already involved in numerous scams, reshuffling of cabinet will not help. From what I have heard, there is lot of tug of war going on after the reports of reshuffling came”.
On the issue of black money stashed in foreign banks, Advani said he is hopeful that the Supreme Court will act on the issue and bring back the money “to satisfy the infrastructure needs of the country”. “Eminent people like Ram Jethmalani, Subash Kashyap and KPS Gill have approached the court on the issue. I have a great hope in the Supreme Court,” Advani said.
“An international organisation has said that more than Rs 20 lakh crore of Indian money is stashed in foreign banks. If it is brought back, it will satisfy infrastructure needs of the country,” Advani said here on the sidelines of a municipal corporation function.
In his recent blog post Advani had also written, “By pursuing the matter, the Supreme Court will earn the lasting gratitude of the Indian people by forcing Government to bring back all this wealth.” Advani also lashed out at the Congress-led UPA government on the issue of price rise. “The Central government has totally failed to control inflation. Huge increase in prices of essential commodities has made life of common people very difficult and has also made the nation suffer,” Advani said.
On the issue of black money stashed in foreign banks, Advani said he is hopeful that the Supreme Court will act on the issue and bring back the money “to satisfy the infrastructure needs of the country”. “Eminent people like Ram Jethmalani, Subash Kashyap and KPS Gill have approached the court on the issue. I have a great hope in the Supreme Court,” Advani said.
“An international organisation has said that more than Rs 20 lakh crore of Indian money is stashed in foreign banks. If it is brought back, it will satisfy infrastructure needs of the country,” Advani said here on the sidelines of a municipal corporation function.
In his recent blog post Advani had also written, “By pursuing the matter, the Supreme Court will earn the lasting gratitude of the Indian people by forcing Government to bring back all this wealth.” Advani also lashed out at the Congress-led UPA government on the issue of price rise. “The Central government has totally failed to control inflation. Huge increase in prices of essential commodities has made life of common people very difficult and has also made the nation suffer,” Advani said.
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