Govt's white paper on black money is a 'bikini': BJP

Press Trust of India | 21-May 22:03 PM

New Delhi: Describing the government's White Paper on black money as "disappointing" and a "non-paper", BJP on Monday said it is "like a bikini" as it hides the essentials and reveals only the less significant details.

"This White Paper is in reality a non-paper. It is rather like a bikini as it conceals all the essentials and reveals only the non-essentials," senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh told reporters on Monday.

The issue of Indian black money stashed abroad has been raked by the BJP time and again both inside and outside Parliament. Party veteran LK Advani had taken out a month long Jan Chetna yatra across the country to highlight the issue.

In the press interaction, Singh said the White Paper has not revealed the quantum of Indian black money kept in tax havens abroad. Neither has the government shared details of steps it has taken to repatriate this wealth.

"The bank deposits of Indians in Swiss banks have decreased from Rs 23,373 crore in 2006 to Rs 9,295 crore in 2010. The government has not disclosed where this money has gone. Has it come back to India? Or has it been transferred to some other tax haven? Or has it been invested somewhere?," Jaswant Singh said.

The Opposition has been demanding that the government make all efforts to bring back this money as has been done by countries like US, Germany and Ireland, among others.

Singh said the White Paper is also silent on the black money made by illegal sale of arms and armaments, evasions on stamp duty especially in land transactions, and use of such funds in politics.

Related Stories

Share with your friends

Facebook

Twitter