The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday said just as the Supreme Court of Pakistan has disqualified Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for alleged corruption revealed in the Panama papers leak, the government of India should also initiate a probe against Indian celebrities named in the same expose.
Addressing a press conference, senior AAP leader Ashutosh said despite the names of several Indian celebrities appearing in the Panama papers, the government is not taking any action against them.
“Pakistan is known for its extremely weak democracy, but despite that, its Supreme Court today disqualified its own Prime Minister on corruption charges. On the other hand, here in India, which is counted among the strongest democracies of the world, its government has not taken any action against people whose names are in the same Panama papers and have serious allegations against them,” Ashutosh said.
Ashutosh said nearly 500 Indian celebrities were named in the expose, but despite this Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chosen not to initiate any investigation.
“Many celebrities like actor Amitabh Bachchan and his daughter-in-law, Ashwarya Rai Bachchan, actor Ajay Devgan, DLF owner K P Singh, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh's son Abhishek Singh and Gautam Adani's elder brother Vinod Adani are on the list, but nobody has been trailed so far,” he said.
In 2016, a massive leak of 11.5 million tax documents called Panama papers exposed the secret offshore dealings of world leaders, businessmen, sports person and celebrities.
Ashutosh said all the investigative agencies are under severe pressure from the Centre and are not ready to probe this scam.
“These agencies are only meant to raid and scrutinise people who do not follow the ideology of the present government, while the real culprits are let go,” Ashutosh said.