CPI(M) on Tuesday lambasted the UPA-II government for “failing on all fronts” saying it has not fulfilled any promise to bring succour to the people, reeling under price rise, unemployment and corruption, and sought confiscation of illicit funds stashed by Indians abroad.
“In the three years of UPA-II rule, not a single step has been taken on any front to alleviate the burden of the people. The government is in a state of drift,” senior party leader Sitaram Yechury told reporters here.
Referring to problems of price rise and “rapid deterioration” of economy and corruption, he said government has “not fulfilled” any promise, which it had made to fulfil in the first 100 days, including bringing in the women’s reservation and food security bills.
“It has failed on all fronts. That is the actual balance sheet of three years of UPA-II,” Mr. Yechury said.
On the government’s white paper on black money, he said the total amount held by Indians in Swiss banks fell from Rs 23,373 crore in 2006 to Rs 9,295 in 2010. “The government seems to have no clue as to where this amount has gone. There is no assessment of Indian deposits in other offshore financial centres,” he said.
“Confiscate all undisclosed assets stashed by Indians abroad and detected by the government. That is the only way to deal with black money,” he said.
Claiming that much of the illicit fund outflows were “round—tripped into India through FDI via the Mauritius route or via FII investments through Participatory Notes (PNs)”, he said CPI(M) has been demanding a ban on PNs and a review of Mauritius taxation agreements but “nothing has been done.”
Mr. Yechury said the Directorate of Transfer Pricing has detected mispricing like over-invoicing and under-invoicing of imports and exports, to the tune of a whopping Rs 67,768 crore between 2010 and 2012 alone, of which Rs 48,951 crore have been collected by the government.
“It is clear that these amounts detected or collected over the past two years still comprise the tip of the iceberg,” he said.
In a statement, the CPI(M) Politburo said the white paper on black money “reflects a trite exercise devoid of any political will. Neither has any credible estimate of black money stashed abroad been provided by the white paper nor any concrete measures suggested to retrieve the illicit funds.”
It said the amount of undisclosed income of Indians who figure in the lists of secret bank account holders received from the German and French governments respectively, were Rs. 40 crore and Rs. 565 crore only.
“These are minor parties. The Indian individuals and entities, who are holding bulk of the illicit wealth in offshore accounts, are yet to be identified. The white paper disappointingly reiterates the myriad technical difficulties involved in retrieving these huge amounts stashed abroad.”
The CPI(M) said “lack of progress” in getting information or taking action “raises doubts over the sincerity of the UPA government on this crucial issue” and demanded “serious effort” to quantify illicit funds stashed abroad by Indians and identify the culprits.
“Undisclosed assets of Indians located abroad should be confiscated by the government as per the provisions of the Income Tax Act,” the statement said.
