The UPA government has again stabbed the people in the back. From tonight 2400 hours the government has increased the price of petrol by Rs.7 to 8  putting much more burden on the people. This is the thirteenth time that the price of the petrol has been increased in the past.

One more thing. This announcement is made immediately after the Parliament session is over yesterday. This is an insult to the Parliamentary democracy. Keeping the MPs in dark, the announcement has been made immediately after the session is over. Prices of all essential commodities are also going to be increased as a result of this petrol price increase.

Let us organise very strong protests against this inhuman attack on the common people.

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:
The Finance Ministry’s White Paper on Black Money presented in parliament reflects a trite exercise devoid of any political will. Neither has any credible estimate of black money stashed abroad been provided by the white paper nor any concrete measures suggested to retrieve the illicit funds.
The paper states that the total amount held in the Indian deposits of Swiss Banks fell from Rs. 23373 crore in 2006 to Rs. 9295 in 2010. The government seems to have no clue as to where this amount has gone. There is no assessment of Indian deposits in other offshore financial centres. The paper suggests that much of illicit financial outflows are round-tripped into India through FDI via the Mauritius route or via FII investments through Participatory Notes. Yet there is no specific recommendation to ban Participatory Notes or to scrap the DTAA with Mauritius.
The paper cites the Global Financial Integrity study which estimated the current value of illicit financial flows from India between 1948 and 2008 to be around $462 billion (Rs. 25 lakh crore approximately). The fact that these are not gross overestimates can be seen from the information provided by the white paper: over the last two financial years (2010-2012) alone the Directorate of Transfer Pricing has detected mispricing (such as over-invoicing and under-invoicing of imports and exports) to the tune of a whopping Rs. 67768 crore in 1343 cases. Rs. 48951 crore has also been collected by the Directorate of International Taxation in just two years, between 2010 and 2012. It is clear that these amounts detected or collected over the past two years still comprise the tip of the iceberg.
The white paper reveals that the amounts of undisclosed income of Indians, who figure in the lists of secret bank account holders received from the German and French governments respectively, are Rs. 40 crore and Rs. 565 crore only. These are minor parties. The Indian individuals and entities, who are holding bulk of the illicit wealth in offshore accounts, are yet to be identified. The white paper disappointingly reiterates the myriad technical difficulties involved in retrieving these huge amounts stashed abroad.
The lack of progress in this direction raises doubts over the sincerity of the UPA government on this crucial issue. The Polit Bureau of the CPI (M) demands that a serious effort be made to quantify illicit funds stashed abroad by Indians and identify the culprits. Undisclosed assets of Indians located abroad should be confiscated by the government as per the provisions of the Income Tax Act.

Two incidents yesterday in the Parliament show that the government is not at all serious on its commitments and assurances. Earlier, it was stated vehemently that the Lok Pal Bill will be passed in this session. Yesterday it has been sent to the Parliamentary Standing Committee by the Government. It means that the same will not be passed in this session.

Secondly, the assurance on issuing a White Paper on Black Money has been technically fulfilled, but there is nothing in the same which can catch the culprits. Not even the names of the offenders have been revealed, although it is with the government.

Dr. Manmohan Singh became the Prime Minister of India on 22nd May 2004. After the next general elections he has been re-elected  and is continuing as Prime minister till now. 8 years is not a very small period. But what achievements are there to his credit? An assessment need to be made.

But after the eight years, at present, all, even those who support his government, is of the opinion that there is no real governance. The government is directly or indirectly involved in a large number of corrupt cases from 2G, CWG, Antrix-Dewas, KG Basin, Adarsh etc. which has completely tarnished its image. The II UPA government is aggressively continuing with its anti-worker policies. Unemployment has grown. PSUs are being disinvested and privatised. There is no limit to the price-rise.

In fact, the government is almost paralysed and there is no governance, to say the least. What tricks are going to be played by the ruling coalition in the next general elections?