Opposition leaders on Saturday hit out at the government after the RBI announced the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 notes from circulation, with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge asking if the “second demonetisation” was an attempt to cover up the wrong decision made earlier.
He also demanded an impartial probe into the entire demonetisation episode.
In a surprise move, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday announced the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 notes from circulation but gave the public time till September 30 to deposit such notes in accounts or exchange them at banks.
It said it has asked banks to stop issuing Rs 2,000 notes with immediate effect.
In a tweet in Hindi, Kharge said, “You have given a deep wound to the economy with the first demonetisation. Due to this, the entire unorganized sector got destroyed, MSMEs got shut down and crores of jobs were lost. The Congress President said, the investigation will reveal the truth of the matter.
Independent Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal also attacked the Center over the decision, recalling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remark at the time of 2016 demonetisation that the amount of cash in circulation was directly linked to the level of corruption.
He said, “₹2000 notes were demonetised. PM to Nation: November 8, 2016, ‘The amount of cash in circulation is directly linked to the level of corruption’. Cash in circulation: 2016 (17.7 lakh crore); 2022 (30.18 Lakh Crore). Hence corruption increased! What do you say PM?” Sibal was a Union minister during UPA 1 and 2 and quit the Congress in May last year. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha as an independent member with the support of the Samajwadi Party.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra said, “No civilized country keeps its people in constant fear of cash turning into toilet paper. Why should we stress that our wallet evaporates every few years ?
Reacting to the development, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi posed five questions to Modi.
“Five questions to top economist PM Modi: @PMOIndia. 1. Why did you first introduce 2000 note? 2. Can we expect 500 note to be withdrawn soon? 3. 70 crore Indians do not have smart phone, how to make digital payment? “4. What is the role of Bill Gates owned Better Than Cash Alliance in doing you Demo 1.0 and 2.0? 5. Are Chinese hackers hacking NPCI? If so, what will happen to the payments if there is a war,” He asked.
Several Congress leaders also criticized the PM over the move.
Congress general secretary organization KC Venugopal said in a tweet, “I am reminded of the visionary words of our former PM Dr. Manmohan Singh, who called demonetisation an act of ‘organised loot and legal plunder’ and its implementation a ‘monumental management failure’ He said, “The demonetisation of Rs 2000 note is yet another proof that the Modi government did not think at all before taking the unfortunate decision of November 8, 2016, which cost the poor and middle class people suffered extensive suffering.”
“This withdrawal shows that he has no foresight and takes shocking decisions only for his political idiosyncrasies,” he added.
Pawan Kheda, the head of the media and publicity department of the Congress, while taunting Modi, said that the one who could not use his own printed notes even for seven years, asks what the country did in 70 years.
Congress MP Manish Tewari said that the RBI’s reasoning behind withdrawing Rs 2,000 notes was contrary to the Finance Ministry’s reply to his Parliament question on November 18, 2019.
He said, “31 March 2017. Total currency in circulation 13.10 lakh crore, 500/2000 notes 9.5 lakh crore. 31 March 2018: Total currency in circulation 18 lakh crore. 500/2000 notes 14.46 lakh crore – circulation 80% of total currency in India. 31 March 2019 – Currency in circulation 21.1 lakh crore. 500/2000 notes 17.34 lakh crore. 82.2% of total currency in circulation.” Tiwari said that the question is whether the Rs 2,000 notes will remain valid even after September 30 or not.
He said that RBI needs to clarify this.
The Rs 2,000 denomination banknote was introduced in November 2016, primarily to rapidly meet the economy’s need for currency after the withdrawal of legal tender status of all Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in circulation at that time. For.
The RBI said it has also been observed that Rs 2,000 denomination notes are not commonly used for transactions. In addition, the stock of bank notes of other denominations continues to be sufficient to meet the currency requirement of the public.
“In view of the above, and in pursuance of the ‘Clean Note Policy’ of the Reserve Bank of India, it has been decided to withdraw the Rs 2,000 denomination banknotes from circulation,” it said.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI,