Skip to main content

Modi a "silent accomplice in cheating the nation" on black money stashed abroad, like Congress: Jethmalani

By Our Representative
In a scathing attack, veteran Supreme Court advocate Ram Jethmalani has shot a new letter saying he is totally disappointed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's three years of performance, and each day more and more evidence is piling up "of your failure as a friend and as the leader of the unfortunate lndian nation that trusted its destiny in your undeserving hands."
Telling Modi that "your conduct or rather gross misconduct no longer compels my silence", Jethmalani says that Modi "won the election mainly and almost certainly on the promise to the people of bringing back 90 lakh crores of black money which is equivalent of 1500 billion US dollars", adding, "You promised putting 15 lakhs Indian rupees in the account of every poor family."
Jethmalani, who wrote the letter to Modi on August 23, says, "You won my confidence and support by proclaiming that agenda of recovery of the stashed away ill-gotten wealth in foreign banks was your major mission in your election campaign."
Pointing that he as the Prime Minister was of "no help" in his effort to unearth black money after willing polls, Jethmalani says, "The awful truth dawned on me when in early 2015 BJP president Amit Shah openly disclosed that all talk about black money recovery was a ‘chunavi jumla', a gimmick or joke."
Calling it "a confession of a huge fraud never repudiated or explained by you", Jethmalani regrets, "I must confess I am ashamed of my stupidity but I am determined to see you suffer a shameful defeat in 2019, long before your selected date, 2022."
Accusing Modi of following Congress' footsteps after coming to power, Jethmalani recalls, "The United Nations had worked for four years and produced in 2004 the Convention Against Corruption mainly dealing with black money stolen from many countries."
Pointing towards how the then Congress government in power "signed the Convention but deliberately did not lodge with the United Nations the document of ratification without which the Convention does not become binding", Jethmalani accuses Modi of making "no exposure of this fraud to the Indian nation."
He further recalls, "The German government, by paying a bribe of US dollars 475 million to an employee of the Liechtenstein bank, obtained 1,400 names of concealed accounts in early 2008. The Swiss Bankers' Association and the German government announced that this list had a majority of Indian criminals."
"Germany publicly offered to share this information with the Indian government too without cost or condition. Yet the government in power did not avail of the offer", forcing him to approach the Supreme Court, yet even today, he or other co-petitioners have received "no assistance of any kind from you or anybody else in the country."
Accusing Congress president Sonia Gandhi of inviting the Swiss Finance Minister and entering in "a secret protocol", Jethmalani says, "two suicidal terms" of the protocol were (1) India will seek no information about the past but only the future, and (2) India will not use the United Nations Convention of 2004 but only the Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty (DTAT).
Pointing out that all this was made known through media, Jethmalani says, it is at this point that Modi approached him for a joint effort.
The letter reads, "l have repeatedly explained to you that this fraud requires to be exposed. DTAT is not an international document but a document under Section 90 of the Indian Income Tax Act. It does not apply to criminals who have laundered black money but only to honest tax payers who have to pay income tax on the same income in more than one country."
Jethmalani asks, "Tell me Mr Prime Minister why even after you have become Prime Minister you have not requested the German government to do for us what they have done for much richer countries?", accusing Modi of becoming "a silent accomplice in cheating the nation."
Underlines Jethmalani, "In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha as to what the Finance Minister was doing to recover the black money in foreign banks, he answered that he was entering into amended DTAT with many countries. He fully went along with the Congress' decision and has betrayed India."
Telling Modi that he was made Rajya Sabha member only to "please" him, Jethmalani says, the real reason was, "You wanted my professional services for Amit Shah in a serious murder case", even as talking on about his "great ambition of recovering India's stolen wealth."

Comments

Anonymous said…
Dear Mr. Jethmalani - You are a wise old person and I have a lot of respect for you. You choose to see Mr Modi with your eyes closed. Yes the progress about some aspects of black money is not adequate.

As a wise and successful advocate you must see the total picture and performance of the NDA government. And see it in the light of history of UPA. Then perhaps you will see the benefits of NDA.... but only if you want to.

The tone of your article is personal and derogatory and childish. It reminds me of "why I did not get a new pencil" kind of a complaint from a school boy. Please elevate your criticism to a constructive and useful level.

If you want to defeat Modi - do you want to bring the Gandhi's back - or Mamta perhaps. I hope you are not bringing back Lalu Sir?!?!?!

TRENDING

Junk food push causing severe public health crisis of obesity, diabetes in India: Report

By Rajiv Shah  A new report , “The Junk Push: Rising Consumption of Ultra-processed foods in India- Policy, Politics and Reality”, public health experts, consumers groups, lawyers, youth and patient groups, has called upon the Government of India to check the soaring consumption of High Fat Sugar or Salt (HFSS) foods or ultra-processed foods (UPF), popularly called junk food.

Avoidable Narmada floods: Modi birthday fete caused long wait for release of dam waters

Counterview Desk  Top advocacy group, South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), has accused the Sardar Sarovar dam operators for once again acting in an "unaccountable" manner, bringing "avoidable floods in downstream Gujarat."  In a detailed analysis, SANDRP has said that the water level at the Golden Bridge in Bharuch approached the highest flood level on September 17, 2023, but these "could have been significantly lower and much less disastrous" both for the upstream and downstream areas of the dam, if the authorities had taken action earlier based on available actionable information.

From 'Naatu-Naatu' to 'Nipah-Nipah': Dancing to the tune of western pipers?

By Dr Amitav Banerjee, MD*  Some critics have commented that the ecstatic response of most Indians to the Oscar for the racy Indian song, “Naatu-Naatu” from the film, “RRR” reeks of sheer racism, insulting visuals and a colonial hangover. It was perhaps these ingredients that impressed the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, one critic says.

Astonishing? Violating its own policy, Barclays 'refinanced' Adani Group's $8 billion bonds

By Rajiv Shah  A new report released by two global NGOs, BankTrack and the Toxic Bonds Network, has claimed to have come up with “a disquieting truth”: that Barclays, a financial heavyweight with a “controversial” track record, is deeply entrenched in a “disturbing” alliance with “the Indian conglomerate and coal miner Adani Group.”

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Insider plot to kill Deendayal Upadhyay? What RSS pracharak Balraj Madhok said

By Shamsul Islam*  Balraj Madhok's died on May 2, 2016 ending an era of old guards of Hindutva politics. A senior RSS pracharak till his death was paid handsome tributes by the RSS leaders including PM Modi, himself a senior pracharak, for being a "stalwart leader of Jan Sangh. Balraj Madhok ji's ideological commitment was strong and clarity of thought immense. He was selflessly devoted to the nation and society. I had the good fortune of interacting with Balraj Madhok ji on many occasions". The RSS also issued a formal condolence message signed by the Supremo Mohan Bhagwat on behalf of all swayamsevaks, referring to his contribution of commitment to nation and society. He was a leading RSS pracharak on whom his organization relied for initiating prominent Hindutva projects. But today nobody in the RSS-BJP top hierarchy remembers/talks about Madhok as he was an insider chronicler of the immense degeneration which was spreading as an epidemic in the high echelons of th

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Savarkar 'criminally betrayed' Netaji and his INA by siding with the British rulers

By Shamsul Islam* RSS-BJP rulers of India have been trying to show off as great fans of Netaji. But Indians must know what role ideological parents of today's RSS/BJP played against Netaji and Indian National Army (INA). The Hindu Mahasabha and RSS which always had prominent lawyers on their rolls made no attempt to defend the INA accused at Red Fort trials.

Asset managers hold '2.8 times more equity' in fossil fuel cos than in green investments

By Deepanwita Gita Niyogi*  The world’s largest asset managers are far off track to meet the  2050 net zero commitments , a new study  released by InfluenceMap , a London-based think tank working on climate change and sustainability, says. Released on August 1, the Asset Managers and Climate Change 2023 report by FinanceMap, a work stream of InfluenceMap, finds that the world’s largest asset managers have not improved on their climate performance in the past two years.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.