Black money controversy: Treaties with foreign nations "undermine" Parliament, judiciary, right to know

By A Representative
Top Right to Information (RTI) activist Venkatesh Nayak has alleged that Government of India’s Double Tax Avoidance Agreements (DTAAs) with foreign countries “curb” independence of judiciary, undermine laws made by Parliament, and curtail the scope of the people’s right to know under the pretext of protecting the privacy of high net worth individuals (HNIs), firms and corporations who may be tax evaders. Objecting to the secrecy clause signed with over 100 countries since 1965, involving governments of all dispensations, Nayak said, the fact is, none of the DTAAs were ever ratified in Parliament.
In an analytical article mailed to Counterview on the controversial black money issue, currently rocking India, Nayak said, the bilateral secrecy clause – which has no parliamentary sanction – was also the reason why the Narendra Modi government has refused to reveal “all information and names of accountholders received from foreign countries cannot be disclosed unless there is evidence prima facie of wrongdoing for launching prosecution against tax evasion”.
The issue dates back to 2009, he said, when senior advocate Ram Jethmalani sought under the RTI Act, 2005 the names and details of persons who had allegedly stashed away money abroad. As the Government of India refused the request, Jethmalani and a few reputable citizens filed a writ petition in public interest under Article 32 of the Constitution, in the Supreme Court of India, demanding that these names be made public.
In July 2011 the Apex Court ruled that where investigation had been completed or was under progress, the names and details of such persons must be disclosed. The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), in power in Delhi, refused, and a month before it was voted out of power, it handed over some information to the Supreme Court in a sealed cover.
With a change of guard at the Centre in May, the Modi government set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed two former Judges of the Supreme Court with the mandate to investigate all related matters and report to the Supreme Court -- but the secrecy clause has been again been invoked to refuse to reveal names, added Nayak, who is programme coordinator, Access to Information Programme, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, New Delhi.
Arguing against Union finance minister Arun Jaitley that secrecy clause under DTAAs are a Congress legacy, Nayak said, the agreement with Germany was concluded on June 19, 1995 and came into force on October 26, 1996 when the Congress under PV Narasimha Rao as Prime Minister and Dr Manmohan Singh as Finance Minister was in power. Then, during the six year BJP-led rule under AB Vajpayee, DTAA agreements were signed with 15 countries – Portugal, Czech Republic, Morocco, Trinidad and Tobago, Qatar, Ukraine, Kyrgystan, Jordan, Austria, Ireland, Slovenia, Sudan, Armenia, Hungary and Uganda.
“Over the last five decades, India has signed DTAAs with more than 100 ‘foreign tax jurisdictions’, starting with Greece, in 1965, under the then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and Finance Minister Morarji Desai”, Nayak said, adding, this makes all governments in power -- UPA, NDA, United Front “directly responsible for this curtailment of the scope of the people’s right to information which is a fundamental right implied in Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution”.
Nayak said, the situation went so far last year that the “audacity to supersede the authority of Parliament and the judiciary” was evident domestically in the thinking within the Department of Income Tax.” The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Manual on Exchange of Information (MoEOI) of 2013 said “the provisions of DTAAs override the domestic legislation” and therefore information under it should be “treated as confidential.”
This, Nayak said, is a violation of the “both Section 8(2) of the RTI Act and Section 138(2) of the Income Tax Act”, under which “any tax‐related information may be disclosed to any person in the public interest.” Saying that the guideline “simply ignores these clauses” and “seek to curtail the power of Parliament by declaring that international treaties are above the laws it has enacted such as the RTI Act and the Income Tax Act.”
---
Click HERE to download full article

Comments

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Two more "aadhaar-linked" Jharkhand deaths: 17 die of starvation since Sept 2017

Kaleshwar's sons Santosh and Mantosh Counterview Desk A fact-finding team of the Right to Feed Campaign, pointing towards the death of two more persons due to starvation in Jharkhand, has said that this has happened because of the absence of aadhaar, leading to “persistent lack of food at home and unavailability of any means of earning.” It has disputed the state government claims that these deaths are due to reasons other than starvation, adding, the authorities have “done nothing” to reduce the alarming state of food insecurity in the state.

What's behind Donald Trump's 'narco-state' accusation against Venezuela

By Manolo De Los Santos The US government has revived its campaign to label Venezuela a "narco-state", accusing its top leadership of drug trafficking and slapping hefty bounties on their heads for capture. This campaign, which only momentarily took a backseat, is a strategic fabrication, not a factual assessment. This accusation, particularly amplified under the Trump Administration, is a calculated smokescreen to justify a long-standing agenda: the overthrow of the Venezuelan government and the seizure of its vast oil and mineral resources. A closer examination of the facts reveals a country that has actively fought drug trafficking on its own terms and a US government with a clear and consistent history of destabilizing independent countries in Latin America.

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

1857 War of Independence... when Hindu-Muslim separatism, hatred wasn't an issue

"The Sepoy Revolt at Meerut", Illustrated London News, 1857 By Shamsul Islam* Large sections of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs unitedly challenged the greatest imperialist power, Britain, during India’s First War of Independence which began on May 10, 1857; the day being Sunday. This extraordinary unity, naturally, unnerved the firangees and made them realize that if their rule was to continue in India, it could happen only when Hindus and Muslims, the largest two religious communities were divided on communal lines.

Ground reality: Israel would a remain Jewish state, attempt to overthrow it will be futile

By NS Venkataraman* Now that truce has been arrived at between Israel and Hamas for a period of four days and with release of a few hostages from both sides, there is hope that truce would be further extended and the intensity of war would become significantly less. This likely “truce period” gives an opportunity for the sworn supporters and bitter opponents of Hamas as well as Israel and the observers around the world to introspect on the happenings and whether this war could have been avoided. There is prolonged debate for the last several decades as to whom the present region that has been provided to Jews after the World War II belong. View of some people is that Jews have been occupants earlier and therefore, the region should belong to Jews only. However, Christians and those belonging to Islam have also lived in this regions for long period. While Christians make no claim, the dispute is between Jews and those who claim themselves to be Palestinians. In any case...

Fate of Yamuna floodplain still hangs in "balance" despite National Green Tribunal rap on Sri Sri event

By Ashok Shrimali* While the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday reportedly pulled up the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for granting permission to hold spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's World Culture Festival on the banks of Yamuna, the chief petitioners against the high-profile event Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan has declared, the “fate of the floodplain still hangs in balance.”

Counterview

Search This Blog