New Delhi, January 20: With the issue of black money gathering steam once again, especially in view of the Supreme Court’s terse observations, the Union Cabinet met Thursday to chart out the government’s defense.
As per reports, the Prime Minister expressed his concern over the widespread publicity to the issue, especially in view of the Opposition’s no-holds- barred attack on the government.
He is said to have revealed that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee would be holding a press conference soon to set the record straight as far as the government’s stand on the issue is concerned.
Yesterday, the Supreme Court hit out at the Centre and dared the government to stop it from holding a general enquiry, in public interest, into the ongoing I-T probe on Indians who have parked “gigantic amounts plundered from national economy.”
The government has already submitted a list containing names of Indians, provided by Germany, who have accounts in Liechtenstein Bank to the SC but is against making the names public as it says that it is bound by banking secrecy laws and other diplomatic niceties.
Importantly, yesterday, the PM himself had rejected the demand, he said, “We have some information that has been provided to us for use in collection of taxes. We cannot use it for any other purpose.”
The next hearing in the SC is on January 27.
—–Agencies