At the all-party meeting, a few days ago ahead of the winter session of Parliament, Sushma Swaraj was the first to inform Leader of the House and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee that her party would raise the issue of black money.
Mukherjee gently explained that while the Bharatiya Janata Party was at liberty to do anything it liked, the fact was that according to the terms of the agreement the government had reached with foreign countries, the names of Indians who had illegal accounts abroad could not be revealed. “If I do that, I will get no more names because India will be in violation of the agreement,” he said. The same issue was raised by the Left parties, and again by Lalu Prasad of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, which happens to be a UPA ally. When Lalu Prasad raised the matter, Mukherjee went red in the face and lost his temper. “I have explained to you so many times but you don't seem to understand. If I reveal the names, I will get no more names. Is this not clear to you,” he yelled, adding sotto voce, “stupid fellows.”
So taken aback was the group that they quickly began gathering up their papers. Finally, the traditional summing up that Mukherjee was supposed to do was done by Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Pawan Bansal.