Use of black money reason for inflation, price rise: Swamy

Patna, April 25: Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy on Sunday, April 24 claimed that black money was responsible for inflation and price rise in the country as black marketeers were using the ill-got wealth to hoard essential commodities.

"Black money is being used in a big way to purchase consumer goods, including food grains, for hoarding to cause artificial shortage, jacking up prices and then selling them for huge profit," he said in his lecture on ''Ramrajya Kal Aur Aj'' here.

Swamy claimed those hoarding black money had invested upto 70 per cent of their capital in consumer goods and were using the profits to buy food materials for black marketing.

It had led to the unusually high inflation rate of about 16 per cent which was negating India's 9 per cent growth, he said.

Swamy claimed that black money was also being invested in the equity market in the country by bringing the funds through the Mauritius route.

"These investors were causing prices of various companies to swing to rake in profits." The Janata Party president touched upon the 2G scam to substantiate his allegation and said DB Realty's promoter Shahid Balwa, now in jail, was a "classic example" of the use of black money in the economy.

Balwa, alleged to have links with Dawood Ibrahim, accumulated the huge ill-got wealth and invested it in the market, he said.

Swamy also hit out at Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi for his alleged description of Lord Rama as a mythical figure during the debate on Setu Samudram project.

The claim about the bridge between India and Sri Lanka had been proved by Geological Survey of India and NASA, he said, adding that he had filed a petition in Supreme Court against attempts to destroy the ''Ram Setu'' for the shipping canal between Park Bay and Gulf of Mannar.

PTI