New Delhi, January 19
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said there was “no instant solution” to bring back black money stashed in foreign banks and that information with the government could not be made public due to treaty obligations.
Talking to reporters at the Rashtrapati Bhavan after the swearing in of new ministers, the PM said: “There is no instant solution to bring back what is called black money. We have got some information and that has been provided to us for use in the collection of due taxes.”
The PM’s comments came close on the heels of the Supreme Court pulling up the government for withholding information on black money stashed in foreign banks, saying it is not just limited to tax evasion but a “mind- boggling crime” amounting to “theft” and “plunder” of national wealth having security ramifications.
Noting that he was not aware of what the apex court has said, the PM said: “We cannot use the information for any other purposes and that information cannot be made public as the country cannot violate the obligations under international treaties.”
The PM also made a concerted attempt to placate the Opposition ahead of the crucial budget session, saying the government was ready to explore “all possible approaches” to end the deadlock in Parliament on the issue of a JPC probe into the 2G Spectrum scam. “As far as the JPC is concerned, our government is ready for all possible approaches,” he said when asked about the standoff with the Opposition over the JPC issue, which led to the washout of the winter session of Parliament.
The PM also expressed confidence that prices would stabilise by March but said certain factors were beyond the control of the government. Refusing to hazard a guess on inflation numbers, he said, “I am not an astrologer. But I am confident that the price situation would be brought under control... We will be able to bring price stability by March.”
