Who is PM Modi protecting, asks Congress after Centre refuses to share reports on black money

The Opposition Congress on Tuesday lambasted the Centre for refusing to share reports on black money and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi who he was trying to protect.

“The Finance Ministry refuses to share reports on black money held by Indians. Who is PM Modi protecting?” Congress wrote on twitter.

The scathing attack against Modi government came after the Union Finance Ministry refused to share three reports on the quantum of black money held by Indians in the country and abroad, saying that it would be a breach of privilege of Parliament.

"Accordingly, the disclosure of information would cause a breach of privilege of the Parliament. Therefore, the information sought is exempt from disclosure under Section 8 (1) (c) of the RTI Act," the ministry said in reply to an RTI application.

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In 2011, the then UPA government led by Manmohan Singh had ordered these studies by National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and the National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM).

In response to the RTI query, Finance Ministry said that it had submitted the reports by NIPEP, NCAER and NIFM, received on December 30, 2013, July 18, 2014, and August 21, 2014, respectively, to the Standing Committee on Finance on July 21, 2017.

Currently, there is no exact information available on the quantum of black money held by Indians in India and abroad. However, an estimate by US-based think-tank Global Financial Integrity (GFI) suggested that black money worth around USD 770 billion India during 2005-2014.

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