Trinamool today demanded that the government should bring back whatever black money they can and use it as a corpus to set up a Democratic Electoral Fund to start the process of electoral reforms. Speaking on behalf of the party, Derek O’Brien, the leader of the party in Rajya Sabha, said that this step could go a long way in stopping the use of black money in elections.
Slamming the BJP as Bahut Jumla Promises, he pointed out the ruling party had gone back on its promise of bringing back black money. He took on the Parliamentary Affairs Minister who had sought a time-bound assurance from the previous UPA government to bring back black money. He also said that the Home Minister had promised to bring back black money within 150 days coming to power during his election campaign.
The Prime Minister, who was the Chief Campaign Officer of BJP in 2014, had said he would bring back black money and use them for social welfare, Derek said. He also took a dig at a person who had said during 2014 election campaign that Modi government would bring back Rs 1 lakh crore worth of black money in 150 days.
While Trinamool supported this Bill, Derek asked MPs not to use the term black money as it was racist; he suggested the term dirty money. He made it clear in his speech that even agencies appointed by Standing Committee on Finance have not been able to ascertain the value of black money stashed abroad.