The allegations made by anti-corruption crusader Arvind Kejiral got dismissed by the Government. Reacting in a sharp manner it said that no evidence has been given to substantiate them. "There is nothing new about the allegations. No evidence has been given," government sources said.
Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said investigations will begin only if there's a formal complaint is made. Speaking in a tone that clearly resembles the party's earlier stand, he said "Let me turn to Kejriwal. He's welcome to make these allegations. If he has material, it will be taken into account. There's no doubt. Nobody is belittling him. If he's made allegations against anyone, of course not everyone has the same freedom as he does, but if they are disclosing something in the nature of what he said, you can be rest assured investigation will start. That's about it. What else should we do? We can't go to cameras. If there is credible information, if I have information about you, will I go only to the cameras? Will I have only a press conference? You can have a press conference because you like publicity. But thereafter, send the information as a complaint or an FIR to the appropriate authority.
However, IAC and Kejriwal remained equally strong in terms of their stand. . "The government is not able to force the banks to give details of account holders. Are we a banana republic," Kejriwal asked. "Set up a Jan Lokpal and an independent agency to investigate the cases or else there will never be an honest investigation against high and mighty," he added.
Till now all the big names given by IAC, including Ambani brothers, Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal and Congress leader Anu Tandon, Dabur all have dismissed the allegations. But in a sharp contrast the HSBC didn't make a clear statement , after the allegations made the multinational bank responded rather little ambiguously, "HSBC Bank in India notes certain allegations made today. The bank cannot comment on the specific details of the allegations that have been made, which relate to issues in the past," it said in its statement. "HSBC takes compliance with the law, wherever it operates, very seriously. With a new senior global leadership team and a new strategy in place since last year, HSBC continues to take concrete steps to strengthen compliance, risk management and culture," the bank added.
(AW-Jyotishman)
