The Communist Party of India on Tuesday demanded that the Centre take up the issue of the bank accounts held by Indians in Switzerland with Berne and banks there and confiscate the amount.
Taking note of the fact that WikiLeaks planned to release the list of Swiss bank deposit holders, the party Central Secretariat said that the black and unaccounted money in Swiss bank accounts far exceeded the economic parameters of the country. The Centre should look into the visits to Switzerland each year by 34,000 Indians.
“Why does the government not enquire into these details? Whom do they want to defend?” the party asked, adding that its MPs had raised the issue in Parliament demanding the confiscation of an estimated Rs.72,000-lakh crore worth of deposits of Indians in Swiss banks.
Stating that there had been no action yet on the part of the Centre, it said recent reports had put the deposits at Rs.280-lakh crore. The Swiss banks' association termed it an exaggeration, though it did not come out with the correct figure.
The party said the Centre had not even responded to the Supreme Court query why the names of depositors were not being declared. It also came out against the proposal by the BJP to collect some penalty or tax to legitimise the amount.
