Swamy takes potshots at his own fraternity

Targets Centre over 2G scam, black money, corruption and rigging-prone electronic voting machines

"I am a bogus Swamy," jested Dr Subramanian Swamy, referring to the rather amusing antidotes of foreign nationals often approaching him for inner peace and yogic meditation.


Political circus: Subramanian Swamy compared Sonia Gandhi to a
ringmaster with a whiplash and PM Manmohan Singh to a lion.
Pic/Datta Kumbhar

Dr Swamy also shared his viewpoint on diverse topics -- 2G scam, impending implications of corruption, possible rigging of electronic voting machines (EVM) and abolishment of income tax -- taking frequent potshots at his own fraternity members from the political arena, including tarnished Telecom Minister A Raja and DMK MP Kanimozhi.

'A drastic change'
"Ancient travellers from China and Europe had recorded their deep appreciation about the Indian way of life, which strongly advocated principals of honesty, and people seldom locked their doors, when not at home. But things have changed drastically in the last 300 years," stated Dr Swamy, Janata Party chief and a PhD in Economics from Harvard University, US.

Stressing on the need for anti-corruption crusaders like Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev, who enjoy a large following at grass-root level in their collective fight against corruption, Dr Swamy stated that the perceived image of a politician should not be a deterrent in achieving common goals.

Black money
"Black money stashed by powerful Indians in overseas benami accounts is tracked by foreign intelligence. This data can be easily misused to blackmail senior bureaucrats to influence the functioning and decision-making of the government. This translates into a major security threat to the nation, which few realise. German government had data on nationals from 24 countries, who held foreign accounts, and wanted to share it. Ours was the only country, which refused their proposal, " he alleged.

Dr Swamy added that black money in foreign banks, which he estimated to be Rs 70-lakh crore, was approximately 40 per cent of our GDP "This money, along with the income generated from auctioning the 2G spectrum as per the latest Supreme Court orders, is enough reason for any government to abolish income tax, to fund future projects. Income tax is a major factor behind generation of black money in the first place.

Abolishing it is possible as even today, nearly 88 per cent of the government revenue comes from indirect taxes," he said.