Modi hints at more action to unearth black money

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asserted that those holding unaccounted money would not be spared, but came out with the promise that ‘honest people’ would not face any trouble.

Mr. Modi made it clear that further action against those holding black money cannot be ruled out. “I would like to announce once again that after the end of this scheme, there is no guarantee that something new will not be introduced to punish you ,” said Mr. Modi.

The Prime Minister was addressing the Indian community in the Japanese city of Kobe.

“I make it very clear that if anything unaccounted comes up, then I will check its records since Independence. [And], will deploy as many people as required for this. Honest people will not face any problem. No one will be spared. Those who know me, they are intelligent as well. They think it is better to offer it in Ganga than in banks (sic),” he said.

Mr. Modi termed the demonetisation of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes ‘swachhata abhiyan’.

“I salute my countrymen. People stood in line for four hours, six hours but accepted the decision in national interest the way people of Japan tackled the aftermath of the 2011 disaster,” he said.

“I thought long and hard about the possible difficulties and it was also important to keep it a secret. It had to be done suddenly but I never thought I will receive blessings for this,” he said.