India to take up secret accounts issue with Swiss

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has said a team from India will visit Switzerland on November 10 to discuss unaccounted for Indian money in Swiss banks.

“Negotiations will begin then,” Mukherjee said at a media interaction during the Economic Editors’ Conference in New Delhi on Tuesday. On whether the government planned to investigate the assets of politicians with reference to former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda, Mukherjee said: “An investigation is on. It will take its due course.
Nobody is above the law. But it would be wrong to say that every politician is like that. There are black sheep everywhere.”

On high food prices, he said people will get relief if there will be an effective public distribution system (PDS). “A collective effort between the Centre, states and other agencies is required. The proposed Food Security Bill is expected to take care of many concerns. But it’s not possible for only the Centre to manage the PDS,” he said.