New Delhi, Nov 1 (IANS) Terming as ‘half-hearted’ the government’s action to unearth black money stashed abroad, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday asked it to reveal ‘all 700 names’ of Indians, given by France, who have bank accounts abroad and to detail the steps taken bring the clandestine money back home.
BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman referred to reports about Income Tax raids on some individuals who are alleged to have parked money in a Geneva bank and said the French government had given details regarding 700 such bank accounts.
‘We suspect government’s intentions are not clean, open… Not only are we demanding that all 700 names be revealed but the government should issue a statement telling the country about the steps it had taken since it came to power in 2009 to get black money,’ Sitharaman said.
The Times of India reported Tuesday that Income Tax department had launched an offensive against politicians and industrialists who had parked money in HSBC Bank, Geneva.
It said the list of those under the lens of IT authorities includes a top Mumbai-based industrialist and three MPs from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala. The newspaper said that the MPs have been issued summons to appear for questioning at the Delhi office of the I-T department’s recently set up Directorate of Criminal Investigation.
Media reports had earlier said that the French government had given India a list of about 700 bank accounts in Switzerland.