Modi to distribute black money to honest tax payers

AHMEDABAD: Narendra Modi on Wednesday said he was committed to bring back black money stashed abroad and assured people that if BJP is voted to power, he would set up a task force, amend laws and distribute the money brought in as "gift" among honest taxpayers.

"The whole country is worried about black money. It is an anti-national activity... For bringing back this black money, you require a political will. I give an assurance to my countrymen that when we will form a government in Delhi, we will create a task force and if necessary will amend the laws," the BJP's prime ministerial candidate said as he launched the party's much-hyped "chai pe charcha with NaMo" (a discussion over tea with Modi) campaign.

"We will bring back each and every penny deposited abroad by Indian citizens. I am committed to this because this money belongs to the poor people of India and no one has the right to do this kind of anti-national activity," he said answering a query in this regard.

Modi was interacting with people here as part of "chai pe charcha with NaMo", where he answered questions from the public from across the country on the theme of good governance.

The programme has been coined by BJP using the 'tea-seller' barb hurled at Modi by rivals to reach out to voters across the country and engage with him.

The Gujarat chief minister launched the first such programme on Wednesday where he interacted with public at tea stalls and answered queries on good governance. The programme was simultaneously held at 1,00 locations across 300 cities across the country.

"It is the prime responsibility of the government to bring back black money. Only the next government will be able to do this and this is my personal commitment," he said.

As an incentive, he said, whatever such money is brought in, 5 to 10 per cent of it will be given as a "gift" to those salaried class who earned fixed income and honestly paid taxes," he said.