Act against HSBC, says Kejriwal

New Delhi, Feb 9 (IANS) AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal Monday urged the government to act against HSBC Bank to unearth details of Indians holding black money abroad while BJP's Kiran Bedi called it "stolen" money.

"Why doesn't the BJP government act against HSBC officials? They will spill the beans. (The) US did precisely that," former Delhi chief minister Kejriwal tweeted.

He said the names of people he had revealed at a press conference in November 2012 claiming that they had black money abroad were there in Monday's edition of The Indian Express. "We stand vindicated."

He added: "But (the) bigger question is - what did first (the) Congress and now the BJP do? Nothing? Why?"

Bedi, the Bharatiya Janata Party's chief ministerial candidate in Delhi, said in a tweet: "Truly criminal, inhuman when poor man's money is stolen. This has caused huge gap between haves and have nots.

She said the Express disclosure was "evidence of where our national wealth, meant for infrastructure (and) nation building went... Truly criminal.

"All involved in HSBC scam must get exemplary punishment," she added.

The Express revealed Monday in a story done in collaboration with Le Monde and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists that there were 1,195 Indians who held accounts with HSBC abroad.

These included leading industrialists, diamond traders and politicians.

The Express said the list may include legitimate account holders who had taken permission and have declared the accounts besides those who have undeclared accounts and who will have to pay taxes and penalty.