With the 50-day demonetisation duration over, the Congress on Friday targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought to know whether the PM, who is scheduled to address the nation on Saturday, will announce compensation for the people for the economic losses heaped upon them by the NDA’s “dramatic decision”.
While party vice-president Rahul Gandhi posed five questions, including the amount of black money recovered and jobs lost post-November 8 decision, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram stated that the whole exercise was undertaken without forethought and planning and demanded that the Government should now make public the RBI agenda meeting when the decision was taken.
The Congress vice-president took to Twitter asking the Prime Minister as to whom had he consulted before taking the decision and wondered as to why were “experts, economists and RBI not consulted”.
Rahul sought to know as to who deposited more than `25 lakh in bank accounts in six months preceding November 8 note ban decision. “With 50 days over since demonetisation, India is waiting for your answers to these five questions, Modiji. Amount of black money recovered after 8 November 2016IJ Economic loss to the nation and numbers of jobs lostIJ How many people died due to demonetisationIJ Has the compensation been paidIJ
“Whom all did PM consult on demonetisationIJ Why were experts, economists, RBI not consultedIJ Who all deposited more than `25 lakh in bank accounts in six months preceding November 8, 2016IJ” Rahul asked on the micro blogging site.
Taking a dig at the Prime Minister, Chidambaram said that according to the PM’s announcement the woes of demonetisation will come to an end on December 30. “Now the Government and RBI should make public the agenda note and the minutes of the meeting of the Board of Directors of RBI held on November 8. Also make public the note for Cabinet on demonetisation placed before the Cabinet on November 8,” Chidambaram said at AICC briefing.
“When the Prime Minister addresses the nation on Saturday or on any other day, the people expect that he will make a categorical announcement that all restrictions on money have been ended,” he said.
“In the last 50 days, the people have been put to enormous hardship and suffering. Among the worst affected are farm labourers, daily wage earners, the self-employed, and those who run micro, small and medium businesses. Many of them have been economically ruined. They will require help to re-build their lives. Yet, so far, the Government has not uttered a word about compensating the people for the economic losses heaped upon them by demonetisation,” said the former FM.
Chidambaram also took on the Government move to change the narrative from black money and corruption to a cashless economy. “No economy can become - or has become - totally cashless. We support encouraging high-value transactions to adopt the digital mode, but to insist that even low-value transactions should go cashless is an absurd and undesirable goal. There are serious issues of privacy and cost to the payer and the payee. These issues require serious debate,” he said.
