Will bring back black money, says Narendra Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his second radio address broadcast over All India Radio, on Sunday reiterated his government’s resolve to bring back black money illegally stashed in foreign banks, “whatever the amount”.

The Prime Minister’s statement follows mounting attacks on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) by opposition parties who allege the ruling party has failed to deliver on its electoral promise of bringing back illegal money.

“As far as the question of black money is concerned, my citizens, keep faith in your principal attendant, this is my article of faith. The money of the poor of India which has gone out, every penny of it will be returned and this is my commitment. There could be a difference of opinion over what should be the mechanism and the route. And in a democracy it is normal. But, I want to assure you that with whatever my understanding and information is, we are on the right track,” Modi said in his 20-minute address.

“Till date, no one knows, not me, not the government, not you, not the earlier governments, as to how much money is actually stashed. Everyone quotes a different figure in their own ways. However, I do not want to get entangled in the numbers, my commitment is whatever is the amount—two rupees, five rupees, one crore or more—that money which belongs to the poor, should be brought back. And I assure you that there will be no shortcomings in the efforts that I make,” he added.

The Congress party and other opposition parties have repeatedly criticized the prime minister for remaining silent about black money and Sunday’s speech was in keeping with Modi’s practice of communicating his position on issues directly to the people.

Last week, after an order by the Supreme Court, the government submitted a list of 627 bank accounts held by Indians in HSBC Holdings Plc in Geneva, Switzerland. The list, which was given to the Indian government by France in 2011, was handed over in a sealed envelope along with a report on the status of investigations against the people mentioned in the list. The sealed envelope was then forwarded to the special investigation team tasked with bringing back so-called black money—untaxed wealth earned through illegal means that has been salted away allegedly in order to evade Indian taxes.

Political analysts feel that while making the statement on the issue of black money in a radio broadcast was effective, the Prime Minister also needs to talk about the kind of deterrents that would be put in place to prevent the stashing of black money.

“Speaking it over the radio does help because, in a way, he is indulging in brand building. He believes that anti-incumbency can be prevented by continuous communication,” Jai Mrug, a Mumbai-based political analyst, said. “However, the statement on methods being debatable but trusting the intentions, leaves a grey area as to how the evaders would actually be dealt with. Getting the money back is not the main issue and the prime minister needs to really talk about how the defaulters would be penalized and what kind of a mechanism would be put in place to deter it further.”

The issue of black money and the Prime Minister’s statement on it could bring the focus back on corruption, which was a key issue in the April-May Lok Sabha polls and contributed to the heavy defeat of the Congress party, with many of its ministers embroiled in corruption charges.

In Sunday’s address, his second since 3 October, Modi also talked in detail about the cleanliness initiative taken up by his government and urged his listeners to carry on this “public movement” to ensure that surroundings remained clean. He also spoke about providing facilities to differently abled children.

“When the country was celebrating Diwali I was in Siachen. It is only because of the Indian Army that we are celebrating it. They live in extremely tough conditions and I salute our soldiers,” Modi said. He added that in his next radio address, likely to be a monthly affair, he will talk about drug abuse and addiction. Striking a personal note with his listeners in the conclusion, Modi asked them to enjoy the winter season because it brings good health: “Don’t let it go; and take advantage of it,” he said.