Politicians not impressed by RBI

The RBI move to withdraw pre-2005 banknotes, ostensibly to unearth black money, has not impressed major political parties. Both the BJP and Congress have said the RBI move may not have been brought about by the rise of the Aam Admi Party (AAP) which has distinguished itself by championed a campaign against corruption.

Congress spokesperson Salman Soz said, “The government had been taking steps to curb black money for several years now. It is not as if Raghuram Rajan has suddenly acted in response to a section of the society getting recently galvanised against corruption. But there could be various reasons behind the RBI move.”

For its part, the BJP said both the Congress and AAP are in sync in diverting the country’s attention from real black money which is stashed away in other countries. “Both the parties are playing a match that has already been fixed by them. What has this government done to get back all that black money from abroad? And the AAP is merely diverting public attention by carrying out sting operations without focusing on the scams involving the Congress,” said BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi.

AAP leaders were not available for comment.