In speech after speech on the campaign trail in the last general election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised us that the colossal amount of black money stashed away in foreign banks would be brought back to India within 100 days of the BJP being voted to power (“ >Bringing back black money back will take time: Jaitley ,” Nov.27). He even went to the extent of enticing the gullible masses that after the kala dhan was brought back, they need not pay taxes for more than a year. Having failed to fulfil the promise even after six months in power, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley should have the humility to seek an apology from the people and the Opposition, instead of trying to defend the indefensible.
S. Sultan Mohiddin,
Kadapa
It is a pity to see Mr. Jaitley acting as a defence lawyer, to counter the Opposition attack on black money. When he was in the Opposition, he could not have been ignorant about the constraints while questioning UPA-II’s inaction in bringing back black money. His explanation now about “difficulties” only points to one thing. The BJP derived political mileage out of the issue and then hoodwinked voters.
Haridasan Mathilakath,
Kochi
The issue of black money was cleverly used by Mr. Modi to mesmerise voters. That the confidentiality clause would be an obstacle in the disclosure of names could not have been unknown to him. Therefore, his false promise of action within 100 days has been nothing but an election gimmick. Mr. Jaitley’s present role reminds one of Winston Churchill’s observation about a politician: “A politician needs the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year. And to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn’t happen.”
Buddhadev Nandi,
Bishnupur, West Bengal
The Opposition, especially the Congress, does not have the right to talk about black money. Pressuring a six-month-old government is unfair. The fact is that a lot of black money is generated internally in India and the government needs to plan a road map to recover this. Sectors like the service, real estate and film industry are hotbeds of black money.
Dhirajkumar Agasar,
Bengaluru
