New Delhi: With the Swiss government's
refusal to share information about Indians holding accounts in
its banks, BJP President Rajnath Singh on Monday said India should
mount diplomatic pressure on that country to get the details.
"I think the Indian government should build up diplomatic
pressure on Switzerland so that the black money of whichever
country is deposited there can be exposed," Singh told
reporters.
BJP had made the stashing away of illegal money by
Indians in Swiss banks and other tax havens abroad a poll
issue during the recent Lok Sabha elections. It had promised
to bring back the money if voted to power and said the amount
would be used to fund several welfare schemes.
This had led even the Congress to announce that it would
take steps in this direction within the first 100 days of
assuming power.
However, Swiss government refused to share the details.
"India cannot simply throw its telephone book at
Switzerland and ask if any of these people have a bank
account here," a top official at Swiss Bankers Association
said from Basel yesterday.
Singh said if the American government could get the names
so could we. Germany and Ireland have also succeeded in
getting names of account holders from their country.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, August 24, 2009, 21:05