By Abdul Bari Masoud,
New Delhi: Sharpening his attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Delhi Chief Minister and National Convener of Aam Aadmi Party Arvind Kejriwal has alleged that demonetization is actually a scam worth Rs 8 lakh crore rupees, which the largest scam ever in India’s history.
Addressing the nation through a Facebook Liveon Saturday, Kejriwal challenged the idea that demonetization would reduce corruption and bribery. He covered several key issues related to demonetization and adding that, “The Rs 2000 notes makes it that much easier for the corrupt to hoard cash and use it for paying bribes. I have worked in the Income Tax Department; I understand how the system works. This scheme is not about corruption, it is about something much larger.”
“This is independent India’s biggest scam – a scam worth Rs 8 lakh crore,” said Kejriwal.
“Public sector banks have been giving huge loans to all of India’s large millionaires and industrialists. These loans are to the tune of Rs 8-8.5 lakh crores. However, these loans have now become non-performing assets (NPAs). Recently the CAG said that of these NPAs, a large chunk of money has been transferred abroad and the rest of it has been fraudulently siphoned off. This is Rs 8 lakh crores of public money that is never coming back. The Modi Government has already waived off loans worth Rs 1,14,000, and now wants to waive off the Rs 7,00,000 crore left. This entire demonetization exercise has been to ensure that people deposit all of their money into banks, which will make it possible for these loans to be waived off.”
Exposing the conspiracy to waive off loans worth Rs 8 lakh crores through demonetization, he said the Government estimates that close to Rs 10 to 11 lakh crore will be deposited by people by the end of the year, which will ensure banks are able to waive off loans given to large industrialists.
“They did not even wait for this scheme to be fully implemented. Only three days ago, the public sector bank SBI wrote off loans given to 63 industrialists worth Rs 7000 crore. Vijay Mallya was the biggest beneficiary of this write off, whose Rs 1200 crore loans were written off, Vijay Mallya is a Rajya Sabha MP elected with the support of the BJP. Instead of taking action against him, Prime Minister Modi put him on a plane and facilitated his escape from the country. He is now living a lavish life in London,” said Kejriwal.
He asked why Modi was being so generous towards people who have looted money from public sector banks, and expressed his concern that there was a financialrelationship between large corporates and Modi.
He displayed the Income Tax documents he had received earlier this week that have details of Modi’s financial dealings with Aditya Birla Group and Sahara during his tenure as Chief Minister of Gujarat.
“This is the first time in India’s history that a sitting Prime Minister’s name has appeared in an investigation into black money accounts of large corporate houses. Why has this investigation been closed? Shouldn’t the Prime Minister allow a fair probe into such a serious matter?”
“Across the country there is chaos and panic after this decision. Weddings are being called off, hospitals are refusing treatment. On the one hand, the aam aadmi is suffering every hardship unleashed by Modi, but on the other hand, Karnataka’s Janardhan Reddy, a former BJP Minister, accused in the mining scam, spent Rs 500 crore on his daughter’s wedding. How did he organize such a lavish affair? Who arranged the money for him? New currency notes are being home delivered to all of India’s big black money hoarders. Why did the Income Tax department not investigate Reddy? Instead of going after them, the Modi Government is causing immense disruption in the lives of workers, farmers, rickshaw wallahs, traders, etc.,” said National Convener Mr Kejriwal.
In 2013, Mr Modi has claimed that all of India’s black money was stashed abroad. After being elected, no steps have been taken to bring back that money from Swiss banks. In 2011, a list of 658 Indians with accounts in Swiss banks had been sent to the Government. The Congress Government did not act on it, and now, nor has Prime Minister Modi after two and a half years of being in power.
Kejriwal linked the Prime Minsister’s reluctance to take real action against the big fish to his election spending. He demanded that the BJP declare what was the source of the tens of thousands of crore rupees spent during the 2014 election.
The National Convener demanded that the Government make it mandatory for political parties to declare their sources of funding and ensure that political parties cannot continue to use black money during elections.
“Was this the only way to end black money in India? No, there were several better and genuinely effective ways. But the Government’s agenda was to allow banks to waive off lakhs of crores worth of loans by forcing Indians to deposit all of their money into banks. Even the counterfeit currency problem has not been solved by this. All banks are accepting currency, whether real or fake, and already fake Rs 2000 notes are in the market!” Kejriwal said, exposing false claims that this was a drive against fake currency.
He said that the country had been pushed into a long period of crisis by the Prime Minister, where food scarcity and inflation are set to destroy India’s economy.
“Ms Mamata Bannerjee and I went to the Reserve Bank of India yesterday to ask some questions about the status of cash supply, etc. No one at the RBI could give any answers as to when this crisis would actually end. By some estimates it would take 6 more months to print new notes of equivalent value. How long will the people suffer like this?” asked Kejriwal.
He asserted that the demonetization scheme would not bring back a single paisa of black money out of the system.