The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday took a dig at the Congress party , for failing to abide by Supreme Court's directions to provide details of illegal money issue and set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT).
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court, criticized the Congress-led UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government for not obeying its three-year-old directions, including the setting up of a SIT to investigate cases of black money and divulge details received from Germany about illegal money holders.
It is believed that several individuals from India are stashing their black money in foreign banks.
Supreme Court said on Tuesday that government's failure to respond to its directive given on July 04, 2011 amounts to contempt of court. In 2011 Supreme Court had appointed a Special Investigation Team, headed by former apex court Judge BP Jeevan Reddy, to check in bringing home of unaccounted money to India.
However, on July 06, 2011 Congress had invalidated court's order on SIT, calling it an example of judicial overreach over the executive functioning and regarding it as inappropriate.
Addressing a news conference in New Delhi on Wednesday, BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman hit out at Congress for misleading people and not taking action to bring back illegal money.
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"In July 2011, the Supreme Court came down heavily on the government saying what is it that you are doing towards getting the money back. July 2011, and it is that judgment yesterday (April 22) in the court was referred to saying that even in July 2011 we had asked you to give the names, disclose the names that you had obtained in the black money case from Liechtenstein," Sitharaman said.
Sitharaman added that it was Contempt of Court for three years by the Union Government.
"Whenever Congress party is in power, corruption, corruption related scandals, inflation, inaction are all linked with one another, very clearly linked with one another and because of that crime and crime in society increases. Congress party is not worried about restoring some kind of order in these matters," she added.
As per estimations of Global Financial Integrity, a Washington based think tank, between 2002 and 2006, the annual amount of money laundering from India was in the range $16 billion, nearly 1.5 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).
Meanwhile, taking a swipe at Congress and its senior leaders who make fun of the development model in Gujarat, Sitharaman said people need to visit to see the real work and not be misled by others.
"Not get dissuaded by the leaders of Congress party in Gujarat who have not even won one election in the last 20 years. You have been misled by your own leadership, Congress party. By your own leadership in Gujarat which does not have public approval. Do your homework, go see what's happening in Gujarat. Don't mislead people on black money or on developmental matters as regards to what is happening," Sitharaman said.
The ruling Congress, led by the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty and its allies, faces a struggle to be re-elected after a decade in power due to public anger over the economic slowdown, high inflation and a string of corruption scandals.