Black money must be brought into the country: BJP

Port Blair, Feb 1 (PTI) BJP President Nitin Gadkari todaysaid the black money stashed in foreign banks should bebrought to the country to channelise the amount intodevelopment works.

Besides providing basic amenities like drinking water,power, laying roads and providing better healthcare facilitiesfor the common man, such huge amount of cash can safely meetthe requirement of the farmer and the people living belowpoverty line, Gadkari told reporters here. The BJP chief hascome to the islands for a party function.

Claiming that the UPA government was not disclosing namesof persons having accumulated black money in foreign banks, hesaid while Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi said blackmoney deposited by Indians in the banks of foreign countriesshould be brought to the country, his party was not seriousabout the issue.

On January 30, Gandhi defended the UPA at Aurangabadsaying "it is wrong that the government is not making effortsto bring the black money back to India."

Last week, while outlining the government''s strategy totackle the menace of black money and on the stashing ofill-gotten wealth overseas, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjeesaid though there are no reliable estimates of black moneygenerated by Indians within and outside the country, it isroughly estimated between Rs 500 billion and Rs 1,400 billion.

Though all steps were being taken to bring it back thenames of cannot be revealed yet, Mukherjee had said onJanuary 25.