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Reveal names of all black money account holders, Congress dares govt [India] [Times of India](Times of India Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) NEW DELHI: Congress on Monday dubbed BJP government's revelation of three alleged black money account holders to the Supreme Court as "khoda pahad, nikla chuha (digging the mountain to find a mouse)", demanding that the Centre reveal all names without cherry-picking. "Three names after such grand talk," AICC spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters, poking fun at the Centre's fresh affidavit in the apex court in the black money case. He questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's repeated claims that he would bring back money stashed away in 55,000 illegal accounts abroad on coming to power. "Has he brought even Rs 55?" he asked. The issue of black money put Congress and BJP at loggerheads earlier this month when the Centre told the court that it could not reveal the identity of account holders as it was bound by the treaties with the countries that have provided the details. The Centre's plea was similar to that of UPA which the BJP had attacked while in opposition. As Congress demanded that Modi and BJP leaders apologise for misleading the countrymen for two years, finance minister Arun Jaitley retaliated that certain names in the rogues' list would embarrass the party. Singhvi said Congress' stance on the issue remained unchanged. "It has been a week since we demanded that government reveal all the information. The government should not indulge in political titillation or press sensationalism. You are the government, you control ministries. You should act," he said. The lawyer-politician said the government could hand over details to the SIT that is an arm of the apex court. Even as it maintains the offensive against the government, Congress has also begun to insulate itself from the eventuality of any party member figuring in the black list. While former finance minister P Chidambaram has said that such a development would not be a setback for Congress because individuals were not maintaining such accounts for the party, AICC on Monday refused to entertain queries about former union minister Perneet Kaur by saying she would do it herself. Kaur confirmed she had received a notice from the IT department but maintained she had no foreign bank account. (c) 2014 Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited |