[Janshakti] Fw: Singh: expose black money

On Wed, 2/23/11, Ricken Patel - Avaaz.org <avaaz@avaaz.org> wrote:

From: Ricken Patel - Avaaz.org <avaaz@avaaz.org>
Subject: Singh: expose black money
To: "ssbedi1945@yahoo.com" <ssbedi1945@yahoo.com>
Date: Wednesday, February 23, 2011, 9:15 PM

Dear friends across India,

Dirty politicians have been illegally stashing money overseas but PM Singh is refusing to tell the public who they are. They could be our representative, or managing the federal budget -- let's raise a massive outcry demanding that Singh release the names:

German and Swiss banks have just released the names of dirty politicians who have been illegally stashing money abroad. But Prime Minister Singh refuses to tell us who they are.

Fearing a scandal, the PM's office is protecting the identity of those crooked politicians responsible for smuggling India's wealth out of the country. This means that voters can't make informed decisions during elections and can't make sure corruption is prosecuted in court. Only a public outcry can force Singh to protect India's democracy instead of his friends.

Let's raise a national call to PM Singh demanding he release the names of all politicians in office or running for office who also hold black money in German and Swiss banks. We will deliver our message to Singh through an ad in the Times of India. Click below to sign the petition and forward to your friends:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/singh_expose_black_money/?vl

The timing is crucial -- in less than a week, elections will be announced in West Bengal. Voters will once again go to the polls without knowing if their elected representative is responsible for robbing India of massive amounts of tax revenue -- unless we do something about it. 

For decades, powerful people in India have hidden "black money" in foreign banks to avoid tariffs and cover up dirty deals. Politicians holding office right now could be responsible for illegally smuggling crore out of the country, undermining the government's own budget. 

Prime Minister Singh insists that international agreements prevent him from releasing the names of those individuals with substantial money abroad. But this is just a smoke screen to protect his friends -- India's people have a right to know if their own political representatives are committing criminal acts. Sign the petition now:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/singh_expose_black_money/?vl

For too long, corruption in India has gone unpunished. Now is the time to take the first step towards an honest and open democracy: by publicly fingering the criminals in our own political system. If we come together across state and religious lines we can begin to build a movement that is truly capable of transforming India.

With hope,
Ricken, Emma, Grazi, and the whole Avaaz team

Sources:

Government refuses to release names: 
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/I-T-crackdown-on-politicians-lying-about-their-wealth/articleshow/7536451.cms

Details on the money trail: 
http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report_indian-money-in-swiss-and-other-banks-is-over-rs-70-lakh-crore_1244317

Supreme court calls for people to be named: 
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/tracking-black-money-centre-refuses-to-make-names-public-80268


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