Demonetization was wrong, have courage to accept it: Chidambaram to government
Senior Congress leader P Chidamabarm had earlier said that cashless economy was not the original aim of the November 8 decion of notes ban.
Former Finance Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram has yet again chided the Narendra Modi government on demonetization.
The ex-minister slammed the Centre for November 8 decision of currency ban and said, “Demonetization was a wrong decision and the government should have the courage to accept it.”
“Finally, the RBI report has revealed what I said 6 months ago,” he added.
This is not the first time that the senior Congress leader has tried to corner the government on this issue of demonetization.
On August 31, when the Reserve Bank of India came out with its annual report and said that “almost all demonetized notes have returned to the system,” Chidamabaram had said that the currency ban was a failure.
He, in fact, had said that the data made him wonder if the notes ban was “a scheme designed to convert black money into white”.
The RBI data coupled with a 3-year slump in the GDP has given helped the Opposition to intensify its criticsm against the Centre.
Though the Centre maintains that there are long-term benefits of the currency ban, yet there many economists who don't agree with the view.
“It should never have happened,” NR Bhanumurthy, an economist at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, had said on the day of the RBI released its annual report.