BJD MP questions why reports on blackmoney not made public

Biju Janata Dal MP Bhartruhari Mahtab on Friday alleged that the government has "restrained" the Standing Committee on Finance chairman from sharing with the panel members three reports on black money.

During the debate on the interim Budget 2019-20 in Lok Sabha, Mehtab said the Finance Ministry has also refused to make them public under Right to Information (RTI) citing breach of privilege of the House.

Pointing to Veerappa Moily (Cong), who is the chairman of Standing Committee on Finance, Mehatab said even Moily has been restrained from sharing information with the members of the committee and questioned the motive behind it.

The UPA government had commissioned in 2011 the studies by the Delhi-based National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) and the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), and the National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM) in Faridabad.

The study reports of the NIPFP, NCAER and NIFM were received by the government on December 30, 2013, July 18, 2014, and August 21, 2014, respectively.