Black money row: Chidambaram hits back at Jaitley
"Whatever name is there will embarrass the individual, the party won't be. These are individual transgressions," Jaitley's predecessor as Union Finance Minister and senior Congress spokesperson, Chidambaram said.
The Congress on Friday said it will not be embarrassed if a name belonging to the party figures in the list of Indians holding illegal foreign bank accounts, calling it an "individual transgression".
Earlier this week, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had warned the Congress of embarrassment when the list of Indians hoarding black money in other countries is revealed.
"Whatever name is there will embarrass the individual, the party won't be. These are individual transgressions," Jaitley's predecessor as Union Finance Minister and senior Congress spokesperson, P Chidambaram, told a TV channel on Friday.
"I did not ask to see nor was I shown the names. So whose name is there I don't know," Chidambaram said on Friday.
In April, when the UPA was in power with Chidambaram as Finance Minister, a list of Indians with bank accounts in Liechtenstein was given to the Supreme Court. However, both the UPA and now the NDA governments say the names cannot be revealed because of bilateral double taxation avoidance treaties.
The Centre's recent statement in the Supreme Court over its inability to reveal names created a massive controversy, with opposition parties led by the Congress accusing the Modi government of doublespeak in the black money issue.
Calling it a u-turn by the NDA government, the Congress asked Jaitley to stop blackmailing the party and dared him to release the list.
In its manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had promised to bring back the black money alleged stashed in foreign banks.