White paper on black money disappointing: BJP

The Opposition BJP said the white paper tabled by the Finance Ministry in Parliament was a disappointing document.

Senior BJP leader and former finance minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, said the government missed an opportunity for taking the first step towards cleansing the country's public life and regenerating vigour in the economy.

“The long awaited and much promised ‘White Paper on Black Money' is a disappointing document. It fails to communicate to our concerned citizens answers to such questions as have been troubling the country,” Mr Singh said.

Mr Singh said the document does not explicitly state the creation of black money through arms and armament procurement and trade by government, generation of black money on account of unreasonable stamp duty levies particularly on land transactions and the creation of an environment of criminality by corrupt politics.

He added that the government failed to make available the figures on the exact quantum of black money, steps taken by the government for repatriation of funds parked at tax heavens and the names of accounts and account holders illegally holding money abroad.

The Congress, however, lauded the document and said the government is taking concrete measures to tackle the menace. When pointed out about the BJP's criticism to the document, the Congress spokesperson, Mr Rashid Alvi, said the Opposition party did nothing to bring back the black money abroad when they were in power. “What did they do when they were in power? The document makes it clear that the UPA government is very serious in addressing the problem,” Mr Alvi added.

jigeesh.am

@thehindu.co.in

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