Black money: Chandrababu Naidu-Jagan Reddy slugfest reaches PM Modi

Amravati, Oct 13: Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu and leader of opposition YS Jaganmohan Reddy on Thursday sought to take their bitter political war to the Prime Minister by writing separate letters to Narendra Modi on the black money issue.

Jagan's letter came a day after Chandrababu indirectly sought to imply that the YSRC leader declared an income of Rs 10,000 crore under the Income Declaration Scheme (IDS).

While Chandrababu wanted the Centre to "demonitise" currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 denomination to "curb" proliferation of parallel economy, Jagan wanted publication of "entire list of IDS-2016" and also initiate a thorough inquiry into the corruption charges against the chief minister.

"Out of the Rs 65,000 crore disclosed across the country, Rs 13,000 crore was declared in Hyderabad and, out of it, Rs 10,000 crore by a single individual.

"Who is that, we can't know as per law. Is it possible for a businessman to declare such huge money," he wondered on Wednesday, indirectly seeking to imply it was the YSRC president.

Separately, a couple of ministers and Telugu Desam legislators directly named Jagan as the one who made the Rs 10,000 crore disclosure, a charge the lone opposition party stoutly denied.

"How is that Chandrababu Naidu alone is privy to this information? If true, then the person declared should have been a 'benami' of Chandrababu Naidu. Otherwise, how can he be so specific on the numbers," the YSRC chief asked in his letter to the Prime Minister.

"If this information is true, then we people of Andhra Pradesh should also be aware of this information. Hence, we request your office to kindly let us know as it is also an irony that AP under Naidu has been ranked as the most corrupt state in the country by NCAER (National Council for Applied Economic Research) just recently," the leader of opposition said.

Chandrababu, on the other hand, praised Narendra Modi saying "the country is fortunate to have you as Prime Minister at this opportune and inspiring time. Opportunity for transformational change arises rarely and even rarer when such opportunities are actually seized for national transformation."

Lauding the Income Declaration Scheme, the chief minister said it has reportedly resulted in pan-India declaration of undisclosed income exceeding Rs 65,000 crore, implying a tax earning of Rs 30,000 crore.

"Black money is a socio-economic evil with grave and disastrous consequences. Apart from loss of revenue to the government, the parallel economy and widening gap between the rich and the poor, it is largely responsible for the deterioration of general moral standards of the society," Chandrababu lamented.

"Indian economy is slated to grow 7.6 per cent this year, making it one of the fastest growing large economies in the world. To remain in the economy 'sweet spot' and reach double-digit growth, the country must ensure forward momentum of its programme of economic reforms," he said.

"By curbing proliferation of parallel economy and transforming India into a cashless transaction economy, the country can be a pride of the world," he felt.

PTI