NEW DELHI: In a big jolt to the government on Tuesday, the Supreme Court has directed the Centre to reveal all the names of Indians who hold foreign bank accounts by Wednesday.
Rapping the government for seeking modification of its order on black money on disclosing the names of Indians who hold accounts in foreign banks, the apex court refused to change its earlier order to exempt the government from not disclosing the names where criminality is not found.
The government had revealed eight names to the apex court Monday, inviting strong criticism from all quarters as leaders and social activists cutting across party lines had accused the Modi government of trying to shield the corrupt with black money stashed abroad.
However, the government had promised the apex court on Monday that it was serious in disclosing names of people with foreign accounts but wanted to reveal the names only after following due procedure.
The government had filed an affidavit with request for some changes in its earlier order in the black money case. The new development has altered all speculation about any attempt to shield the corrupt and expedite the process to unearth black money stashed abroad.
It may be recalled that senior leaders of BJP including the prime minister Narendra Modi himself had promised in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections that if BJP came to power, names of Indians with foreign accounts would be disclosed and the black money stashed would be brought back to the nation.