New Delhi: In a sensational revelation, the central government today released names of three persons holding accounts in foreign banks currently under the scrutiny of the income tax authority. Sources say the account holders are not political personalities and the names will be part of an affidavit the government will file in the apex court.
Pradip Burman (executive director, Dabur India Limited), Pankaj Chimanlal Lodhiya (chief promoter of Rajkot-based Shreeji Trading Company) and Radha S Timblo (Goa-based miner) are the Indians named in the affidavit filed by the government in the Supreme Court.
Reacting to the news, the Burman Group said Pradip Burman opened the account legally when he was an NRI. He followed all the laws while opening the account. Moreover, all the details regarding the account have been voluntarily filed with the Income Tax department and appropriate taxes have been paid.
It is unfortunate that every person having a foreign bank account is being painted with the same brush, added the statement released by the Burman Group and Bullion trader Pankaj Chimanlal Lodhiya has told media personnel that he has no foreign bank account.
The Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice HL Dattu had earlier on Monday permitted the filing of the affidavit after Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi mentioned the matter before the court this morning.
The Narendra Modi government’s move to disclose names of account holders has not gone down well with not only Congress but also senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani, who has been expelled from the BJP.
Jethmalani had last week written a fiery letter to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, hitting out at him for handling the black money issue in an inappropriate manner. In his letter, which is full of criticism, Jethmalani said that the steps taken to deal with the black money issue were not right and accused Jaitley of not wanting the truth to come out.
The government, Jaitley has said in his Facebook post, “stands committed to detect the names, prosecuting the guilty and making them public. We are not going to be pushed into an act of adventurism where we violate the treaties and then plead that we are no longer able to get the cooperation of reciprocating states.
Bureau Report
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