Godsend, Congress pounces on BJP list
Blasting the Modi Government for "zero action" in the last 41 months on black money stashed abroad, the Congress on Monday challenged it to register an FIR and order a probe into the foreign accounts held by BJP leaders and their families abroad.
It pounced on the latest expose of 714 Indians, including Union Minister Jayant Sinha and BJP's Rajya Sabha MP R K Sinha from Bihar, wondering why Prime Minister Modi and his government were protecting these persons. All of them find a mention in the "Paradise Papers" and have links to offshore entities in tax havens.
Party chief spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala asked the government why no FIR was registered nor probe ordered into the conduct of these two Sinhas as also Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh and his son Abhishek, Shillong IIM Chairman Shishir Bajoria and Anurag Kejriwal; all of them are linked with the BJP and have been named in the Panama papers. "Will PM show the courage of conviction to hand over this entire information to the bench of Hon’ble Supreme Court which is looking into action against Black Money holders," he asked.
He pointed out that not a single FIR has been registered until now against 500 names that surfaced in the "Panama Papers" expose in May 2016 and more Indians' links have now surfaced in the "Paradise Papers."
Did the Prime Minister unleash the demon of demonetisation as a diversionary tactic to save these people, Surjewala asked. "Why is the Modi Government not making public the names of all Black Money holders who have accounts in Panama, British Virgin Islands, Switzerland and other tax heavens?" Surjewala pointed out that Jayant Sinha is a director on US firm D Light Design, which has a subsidiary of the same name in the offshore tax haven of Cayman Island; it had raised a loan of US$ 3 million with signatures of Sinha on the loan agreement on December 31, 2012. Sinha continued to be the firm's director even after being elected an MP in May 2014 and continued to receive money and shares from the firm, he alleged. The Congress leader asked why no action was initiated against Sinha despite the source of funds in offshore tax havens being always questioned by the Indian authorities as "undeclared" or "black money." He said Sinha also concealed this information of being a director of D Light Design in his declaration to the Election Commission as also to the Lok Sabha Secretariat and in submission of assets as a minister to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). Surjewala listed six other companies of Jayant Sinha and wanted to know whether they too have any connection with the offshore entities. He asked: "Does it not compromise the position of Shri Jayant Sinha as MoS? Does it not tantamount to ‘Conflict of Interest’? Does the non-disclosure of all information in the affidavit before Election Commission not constitute an electoral offence?"