New Delhi:BJP MP Ram Jethmalani on sunday attacked the government over allegations of corruption in Commonwealth Games projects, asking why nobody has been arrested in the matter so far.
"Every morning, ten cognizable offences are revealed...why not a single case has been registered, why not a single person has been arrested and sent to jail. Why the CBI does not record the cases and arrest anybody," Jethmalani said at a function here. He was delivering a lecture in a programme organised by British Council and WhyPoll organisation on 'End Poverty 2015' Millennium Campaign.
Jethmalani also accused the government of not taking any initiative to bring back the country's black money stashed in foreign banks saying this money could have been used for poverty eradication here. "Nobody is having a real interest in recovering the assets of the country," he said lambasting politicians and bureaucrats for their involvement in corruption.
"India is not a poor country. We are poor because we are corrupt," Jethmalani said and urged people to raise their voice against the menace of corruption. CPI-M leader Sitram Yechury called for "changing the policy trajectory" to fight poverty. Without naming AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, Yechury also referred to his statements about the existence of two Indias.
Yechury said that his party has always been saying that there are two Indias -- one is "shining India" and the other is "suffering India" and is happy to note that "more people are joining the cause". "A high profile general secretary of Congress is also talking about two Indias."
In his written intervention in the programme, Yechury dwelt at length on the economic gap among billionaires, high net worth individuals and average citizens in the country.
Unless there is a reversal of present policy direction, which is widening the gulf between the rich and the poor, the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) to which India is also a signatory cannot be achieved, he said.
He also criticised the Central government for giving massive tax concessions to the corporate sector and the high income sector saying this money could have been used to ensure a sharp reduction in levels of poverty and malnutrition.
Noted environmentalist R K Pachauri talked about the need for steps to increase green cover in the country. He said the country is losing 10 per cent of GDP due to environmental degradation. PTI
