Opinion Buying time and secrecy?

The PM should address the Swiss bank question himself.

January 28, 2011 02:58 AM IST First published on: Jan 28, 2011 at 02:58 AM IST

The apex court of the country had to once again come to the rescue of the country and fill the executive vacuum left by the Congress-led UPA. Its observations on the revelation of the names of Indians holding money in Swiss accounts are rather embarrassing. Adding to the shame is a wishy-washy press conference by the finance minister which obscured the issue,rather than clearing it up.

Usually the Supreme Court refrains from making harsh comments,but it seems that the judges were aghast at the governments arguments hence phrases like pure and simple theft and gigantic amounts plundered from national economy and how many zeros are there in that.

The necessity of such words,usually not part of court language,should turn any government red with shame. The bench vividly expresses bewilderment and anguish that,while the West is growing more active in producing evidence for illegal transnational transactions,India has taken a complete U-turn on the issue.

Worldwide,countries have joined ranks to battle against tax havens,and have consistently been working to end banking secrecy which veils underhand transactions. The most recent example: UBS,the largest Swiss bank,was compelled by the US administration to reveal the names of tax evaders under the threat of being sued. The Swiss authorities amended bank laws and gave the desired data to the United States.

Our prime minister instead says that black money information cannot be made public because of international treaty obligations. The worst was when he himself said that there is no instant solution to bring it back. While doing so,the PM had completely forgotten his earlier commitment to the nation: he said he would initiate steps to recover more than one lakh crore rupees illegally stashed in Swiss banks within 100 days of assuming power.

The former Himachal Pradesh chief minister and Rajya Sabha MP,Shanta Kumar,raised this issue recently. In a parliamentary delegation to participate in the UN General Assembly on the anti-corruption convention in October last year,Swiss representative Matthias Bachmann told him the Swiss government was committed to returning what it considers to be stolen money and,besides,they had signed and ratified the UN convention against corruption. Indeed,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 Swiss banks. Such absolute inaction in this regard makes the Manmohan Singh government in some way culpable.

Shanta Kumar stated that out of 142 signatories of the UN convention on corruption,only 22 have not ratified it; India figures prominently amongst them. A GoM is still debating whether corporate and private houses have to be brought under the convention or not indeed a flimsy excuse. Apparently,the government is overtly and covertly attempting to cover up the black money issue.

While no one knows the actual amount,several sources claim more than Rs 130 lakh crore was stashed away by 2001,which exceeded Rs 285 lakh crore by 2007,showing an increase of more than 80 per cent in six years. There is nothing surprising about this; that several wealthy Indians have quietly siphoned money to Swiss banks and tax havens around the world,while evading taxes and being conduits for illicit deals,is obvious. There could be wild allegations made against the top brass of the Congress,a fine political opportunity to many for mudslinging. And the more time passes,the more time there is for those under the scanner to shift their cash to safer houses.

And this in spite of the fact that,on July 30,2009,Manmohan Singh categorically told the Rajya Sabha that action has already started for getting back money belonging to Indians from Swiss banks. He intervened,suo motu,to refer to the statement of the finance minister in his reply to the Finance Bill in the House,stating that the FM had specifically dealt with this aspect and had said that action has already started.

It is noteworthy that,whether it is the 2G scam,whether it is Swiss bank money,or any other issue related to corruption under the UPA,the SC has been compelled to intervene.

In the light of the SCs remarks,it would be desirable for the PM to clarify whether he chose to mislead the House by making a statement which has been contradicted by the SC. It is a matter of propriety and also a matter of privilege of the House. A straight answer from the PM would enable Mr Clean to keep his conscience clear. The finance ministers press conference just raised more questions; his suggested five-pronged strategy fully establishes the governments intentions to postpone the core issue: disclosing the names of the guilty.

The delays and time-buying techniques all deserve a reply from no one other than the prime minister.

The writer is a BJP MP in the Rajya Sabha and national spokesperson of the party,express@expressindia.com