Despite CIC orders, PMO refuses info on black money brought from abroad
New Delhi, Nov 25 : The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has refused to share details on the quantum of black money brought back from abroad, citing a provision of the RTI Act that bars disclosure of information that may impede investigation and prosecution of offenders.
Its response came on an October 16 order passed by the Central Information Commission, asking the PMO to provide details of black money within 15 days.
Replying to an RTI query, the PMO said a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has already been formed and its investigation is underway.
As such, disclosure of all the action/efforts undertaken by the government at this juncture may impede the whole process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders and hence would attract the provision of exemption under Section 8 (1) (h) of the RTI Act, it said in response to the RTI application filed by whistleblower bureaucrat Sanjiv Chaturvedi.
Such investigations come under the purview of different government intelligence and security organisations which have been excluded from the ambit of the RTI Act, the PMO said.
Chaturvedi, an Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officer, had sought information on the quantum of black money brought from abroad since June 1, 2014.
In its initial reply to the RTI application, the Prime Minister's Office had in October last year said the query was not covered under Section 2(f) of the transparency law that defines information.
Chaturvedi thereafter moved the Central Information Commission which had last month ordered the PMO to provide information within 15 days.
There is, at present, no official assessment on the quantum of black money in India and abroad.
According to a study by US-based think-tank Global Financial Integrity (GFI), an estimated USD 770 billion in black money entered India during 2005-2014.
Nearly USD 165 billion in illicit money exited the country during the same period, the report by the global financial watchdog said.
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BJP's Suvendu urges Bengal Guv to order independent judicial inquiry into Messi event fiasco
Kolkata(PTI): Leader of Opposition in West Bengal assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, on Saturday wrote to Governor C V Ananda Bose, seeking an independent judicial inquiry into “administrative incompetence” and “public humiliation of citizens”at the Salt Lake Stadium here during an event featuring football legend Lionel Messi.
In his letter, Adhikari alleged that the stadium, built with public funds, was converted into a “private durbar” for political elites, resulting in humiliation and harassment of spectators who had purchased tickets.
"I write this communication with a profound sense of anguish, constitutional alarm, and moral urgency. What unfolded at the Yuva Bharati Krirangan was not merely an episode of administrative incompetence, it was a public humiliation of citizens, a grotesque exhibition of unrestrained political privilege, and a direct assault on the rule of law in the presence of thousands of witnesses," Adhikari asserted.
He claimed that football fans were denied basic amenities and dignified viewing due to unchecked VIP presence, obstruction of sightlines, and arbitrary restrictions.
Chaos unfolded at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday, after spectators resorted to vandalism on failing to catch a glimpse of Messi, alleging gross mismanagement by the organisers and obstruction of views by VIPs.
Police arrested the event’s prime organiser, Satadru Datta, while Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced the constitution of a high-level inquiry committee to probe the incident.
Adhikari, in his letter, held the sports department, police authorities and the minister-in-charge of sports and youth affairs responsible, alleging that the situation was “enabled, if not orchestrated”, by the state administration.
He claimed that the conduct of the authorities reflected indifference to public accountability and misuse of power.
The senior BJP leader also took exception to the inquiry committee announced by the chief minister, contending that it lacked independence and credibility.
Adhikari said the panel is headed by Justice (Retd) Asim Ray, who currently holds a statutory post under the administrative control of the state government, and includes senior bureaucrats whose actions are under scrutiny.
"This committee is structurally compromised, legally infirm, and morally indefensible," he said in the letter to the governor.
Adhikari urged Bose to exercise his constitutional authority to order the formation of a truly independent inquiry committee.
He proposed that the committee be headed by a sitting judge of the Calcutta High Court, and assisted by persons of unimpeachable integrity with no institutional, administrative or political affiliation with the state government.
“The issue transcends football, politics, and personalities. It concerns the right of citizens to be treated with dignity, the obligation of the state to act as trustee of public interest, and the duty of constitutional authorities to intervene when the executive becomes a law unto itself,” Adhikari said.
Later, speaking to reporters, he accused the state government of mismanaging the situation at Salt Lake Stadium, and demanded the resignation of the CM.
Adhikari said all those responsible for the fiasco should be arrested, and spectators must be provided refunds.
He alleged that senior Trinamool Congress leaders and their associates crowded around Messi, leaving thousands of fans at the stadium deprived of catching a clear glimpse of the football star.
“This was a case of misuse of power at the cost of ordinary citizens. The chief minister must take moral responsibility, those responsible for the incident should be arrested, and every fan who was cheated must get a refund,” Adhikari asserted.
He added that public anger would not subside without accountability and corrective action.
