Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L.K. Advani has demanded that the names of persons whose money has been stashed away in Swiss banks should be made public by the Manmohan Singh government.

He was addressing journalists at the Chaudhary Charan Singh (Amausi ) airport here on Saturday.

The veteran BJP leader said he had written a letter on the subject to the Prime Minister in 2008, but was still to get any reply.

Mr. Advani accused the Central government of shielding the corrupt persons and criminals. Even as he refused to comment on the “Tehelka” report on the issue, he said the country wanted to know the names of the account-holders.

Stating that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would not sit idle on the issues of corruption, 2G spectrum and Commonwealth Games scams, Mr. Advani reiterated the demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe.

Mr. Advani, who could not participate in the NDA's “mahasangram” rally in Kanpur, said the rally was against corruption and scams. He appealed to the people to support the NDA in its endeavour to expose corrupt practices.

Like him, NDA convenor Sharad Yadav and the former HRD minister, Murli Manohar Joshi, missed the rally as the plane carrying them could not land at Chakeri airport due to low visibility. The plane was diverted to Lucknow's Amausi airport, about 85 km. from the industrial metropolis.

Mr. Advani said before taking off from Delhi they had been informed by the air traffic controller that the plane may not be able to land in Kanpur due to zero visibility there. The leaders later left for Delhi. The NDA's next rally against corruption is proposed to be held in Hyderabad on February 17.