Businessman Zafar Sareshwala on Saturday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for raising the black money issue at an informal meeting of leaders of the five-nation BRICS bloc.
"To raise issue of black money in G-20 is again a very bold step. Mr. Modi has raised this issue and has also convinced the people there. The leaders of G-20 have accepted it," Sareshwala told ANI here.
"This is where actually the black money of India lies. These are the 20 countries where most of the money is," he added.
Sareshwala said Prime Minister Modi has a strong power of convincing people and added that the latter sets his own agendas.
"As you pointed put WTO, India didn't sign it as it was against the basic tenet of Indian poverty. And now, America has accepted those conditions which India had raised. So, America has accepted Modi's concerns," he added.
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Sareshwala, who is said to be a strong supporter of Prime Minister Modi, further said the Indian Prime Minister does not lose sight of three things wherever he goes.
"He has his diplomacy. He creates personal relationships and rapport with everybody- Japan, China, U.S.A., and now in Australia. Second, he brings agendas of India's interest. And the third thing that Modi never forgets- that he takes a very close interest in the Indian community or the diaspora which is wherever," he added.
Sareshwala further said it is a co-incidence for him that he is visiting Australia at a time when Prime Minister Modi is on an official visit.
"It is co-incidence for me. I have come after 28 years to Australia. Last I came in 1986-87, few months after Rajiv Gandhiji had visited. In those days, when Rajiv Gandhiji came here and visited nobody knew about it and we Indians were looked down upon. Nobody even bothered what an Indian is. But things have changed now, that was then and it is now," he added.
Prime Minister Modi earlier in the day said that repatriation of black money was a key 'priority' for the government, and called for 'close coordination' on achieving the above objective at a meeting of the five-nation BRICS group just hours ahead of the G-20 Summit in Brisbane.
"Repatriation of black money kept abroad is a key priority for us," Prime Minister Modi told the BRICS leaders and called for close coordination on the issue of black money kept abroad.
"Repatriation of unaccounted money kept abroad is a key priority for us-PM @narendramodi to BRICS ahead of G-20 Summit," tweeted MEA official spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin.
"At BRICS meet ahead of G-20 PM @narendramodi calls for 'Close coordination on unaccounted money kept abroad'," he added.
Prime Minister Modi also said this unaccounted money is also linked to security challenges.
"Unaccounted money abroad is also linked to security challenges - PM @narendramodi ahead of G-20 Summit in Brisbane," tweeted Akbaruddin.
Besides Prime Minister Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, South African President Jacob Zuma and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff were the other leaders who took part in the informal interaction.
Prime Minister Modi is expected to raise the issue of black money at the G-20 Summit as well.
