After facing displeasure of the Supreme Court on blackmoney issue, the government was today questioned by ruling BJP leader Subramanian Swamy who termed as "wrong" its stand that names of foreign account holders could not be disclosed because of treaties.
Opposition parties also rejoiced over the apex court slamming the government over the issue.
Swamy insisted that the government had from day one no "legal basis" for withholding the names of foreign account holders.
"Government was wrong in quoting DTAA (Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty), both the UPA and our government. And what has now come from the Supreme Court is correct position in law," he said.
"This is money out of corruption, scam... And has no protection in law," he told a TV channel.
Congress hailed the Supreme Court slamming the government.
"It was obvious that the government was making a case on behalf of foreign account holders, saying why their privacy needs to be maintained... The truth is none of the agreements of DTAA prohibits the government from naming account holders," Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha told reporters.
Hailing the apex court's order, CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta said it is a "counter blow" to the government from judiciary on its "deliberate inaction".
"This is absolutely a clear case of judicial intervention to correct the position the country is facing today," he said.
Samajwadi Party spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said the order is a big embarrassment for the Narendra Modi government and the SC was left with no choice because the Centre was "not cooperating".
The apex court had some strong words for the government for seeking modification of its earlier order on disclosure of all names saying this was accepted by the then UPA government.
"Why are you trying to protect people having bank accounts in foreign countries. Why are you providing a protective umbrella for all these people," it said.
