All BJP MPs and ministers must submit bank account details to Amit Shah on January 1
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took his battle against black money to his own party on Tuesday by asking BJP MPs, including ministers, to submit their bank account details from November 8 to December 31 to party president Amit Shah. The details have to be submitted by January 1.
There is every reason to believe that the announcement would have come as a surprise for the MPs who had gathered at the weekly parliamentary party meeting. Currently, the BJP has 282 MPs in the Lok Sabha and 55 in the Rajya Sabha.
Sources said the PM underlined his commitment to unearthing black money during his seven-minute address to this cause. He made it clear that the Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016, was not aimed at converting black into white money. Instead, that money would be put into schemes for the welfare of the poor.
Later in the day, the Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016, bringing in the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, was passed in the Lok Sabha amidst strong protests by the Opposition. Under it, undisclosed income can be declared with a 30 per cent tax, a penalty of 10 per cent, and a surcharge of 33 per cent of tax. Besides this, 25 per cent of declared income will have to be kept in an interest-free deposit scheme for four years.
Modi's directive to his MPs comes in a bid to enforce transparency within his party and counter Opposition accusations that some BJP leaders had been tipped off ahead of the demonetization announcement on November 8. This charge has been continuously denied by the government and party.
Currently, it is mandatory for anyone contesting election to submit details of all assets, cash, and jewellery to the Election Commission. Now, the BJP MPs will have to disclose to Shah all details of their banking transactions from 8 November to 31 December.
Sources quoted Modi as saying "is desh ko noton ki gaddiyon ke neeche nahi dabne doonga (I will not allow this country to be buried under wads of cash)." Instead, he would eradicate all the black money that would surface.
According to sources, Modi had also claimed at the meeting that the 200 per cent penalty he had spoken about after announcing demonetization on November 8 would now amount to nearly 205 per cent.
Emphasising "garibon ka paisa hai, garibon ko milega (it's the money of the poor and will be utilized for the poor)", he said the Act would ensure schemes for the poor would be finalised from Lok Kalyan Marg, the new address of the Prime Minister's residence.
The government's focus is to create a digital economy, and Power Minister Piyush Goyal was believed to have made a presentation on digital banking at the meeting. But to help make this a reality, all BJP MPs have been asked to go to their constituencies, panchayats, nagar palikas and nagar nigams by next Monday. There, they will educate small traders, one of the party's core constituencies, on net banking.
On the political side, BJP president Amit Shah sought the support of the MPs to counter the "disinformation" campaign by opponents, particularly in rural areas. Shah said while in urban areas the "disinformation" campaign would not last long, in the rural areas it could take time.
However, Modi's idea to get his party MPs to disclose their account details has failed to impress the Opposition. "Cut the rhetoric & jumla's Modiji. Dare U to make accounts of BJP&RSS public before DeMonetisation (1st April to 8th November) & not post facto," tweeted Congress's chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala.
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