Page 3 - Tehelka Issue 13 - July 15, 2018

Editor’s Note

Whither black money if money

in Swiss banks is not black?

The news that money parked by Rajeshwar was not a distraction”. Even KC Tyagi of JD-U,
Indians in Swiss banks grew 50 BJP’s ally in Bihar, called the trends “worrisome”, say-
per cent while secret deposits by ing everyone had hoped black money would be curbed
other global depositors grew by post demonetisation. CPM’s Sitaram Yechury and CPI’s
just three per cent, has pushed the D Raja also attacked the BJP for “waiving off corporate
government on the back foot with loans and allowing fraudsters to flee with bank monies”.
Finance Minister Piyush Goyal and The government put up a strong face with Goyal
Union Minister Arun Jaitley wonder- promising action against those guilty of holding black
ing how all this money could be “assumed money and Jaitley writing a blog pointing out that to as-
to be black”. sume all deposits are per se tax-evaded money or that
If Swiss money deposits by Indians is not black, Switzerland in the matter of illegal deposits is what it
where has all the black money gone? Was it another was decades ago is to start on a shaky presumption. The
“jumla” if seen in the light of famous rhetoric that if flow of information from Switzerland will start from
NDA was voted to power it would bring back every January 2019.
paisa stashed in Swiss banks? It is strange how this has Any illegal depositor knows it is a matter of months
happened despite demonetisation which was touted as before his name becomes public and he will be sub-
a crucial weapon in the fight against black money. If jected to the harsh penal provisions of the black money
all money parked in Swiss Banks is not black money, law. Time has come for the government to re-establish
shouldn’t we stop labeling the wealthy as tax evaders its sense of sincerity about its commitment to weed
and instead encourage them to invest their funds in In- out black money. It needs to accelerate the pace of in-
dia in public interest? vestigations in all cases by prosecuting all those who
It was expected of opposition Congress to come have violated the law. Nothing short of that will work
down heavily on government’s claims of fighting to bring favourable public perception like the famous
against black money, but what could hurt the govern- lines from Christopher Marlowe’s play Dr. Faustus “All
ment is its own leaders and allies criticising it. Rajya is dross that is not Helena”!.
Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy wrote on his Twitter
handle, “Major success of Finance Secy Adhia. Secret
Swiss Bank accounts deposits from global sources rose
by 3 per cent last 12 months. Indians deposits however
grew 50 per cent. Adhia would have managed more if (charanjit ahuja)

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Volume 15, Issue no. 13, 1-15 july 2018, released on 1 july, number of pages including cover 68
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3 Editor'sNote.indd 3 03/07/18 4:48 PM