Kolkata: Senior Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Gurudas Dasgupta has accused Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and the Congress Party of `` intentionally covering up`` the list of 700 account holders in Swiss banks, which was given to India by the French government.
Interacting with mediapersons here, Dasgupta said the Communist Party had appealed to the government to release the list in public, but both the Finance Minister and the income tax department postponed it till the case is resolved.
Dasgupta said that the only reason Mukherjee and the Congress Party are reluctant to reveal those names was because it included some names who were closely associated with India`s ruling party.
"The government had received some names of people who are account holders of black money in the Swiss banks. We had recently demanded before the government to publish these names. Pranab Mukherjee had stated on November 1 that till the case is over, the names can`t be published. Who knows how long it will take? The income tax department has also sent a notice that the names can`t be published. Some of the political friends of Pranab Mukherjee and Congress party are there on the list," said Dasgupta.
The French government provided a list of 700 names to India holding bank accounts in a bank in Switzerland. After obtaining the list, India`s income tax department launched an aggressive investigation, conducting almost 50 raids in the past two months.
However, some of those whose names have figured in the list have denied having an account in the Swiss bank.
Dasgupta further appalled by the state of health service in the state, which was dealing with a rising death toll of infants, last reaching 25.
He said that the whole health system of the state was falling apart and the state was in urgent need of a full-time health minister, who could take stock of the situation and also provide feasible explanation for these deaths.
"The whole system is crumbling down; the health system in West Bengal, instead of improving is crumbling down. And government has to take radical steps in order to improve the situation. There cannot be any cosmetic change, there has to be radical steps and there has to be a full time health minister to take care of it," Dasgupta added. (ANI)
