The Congress on Friday, May 19, slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 bank notes from circulation, after introducing them with much fanfare through the "singularly disastrous" demonetisation decision of November 8, 2016. Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said: "Typical of our self-styled Vishwaguru. First Act, Second Think (FAST). 2000 rupee notes introduced with such fanfare after that singularly disastrous Tughlaqi firman of November 8, 2016 are now being withdrawn."
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said: "The ghost of November 8, 2016 has come back to haunt the nation once again. The greatly propagated move of demonetisation continues to be a monumental disaster for this nation. The PM sermoned the nation on the benefits of the new Rs 2000 notes, today when the printing is stopped what happened to all those promises?"
"The government must explain its motive for such a step. The government continues its anti-people and anti-poor agenda. Hope the media questions the government on such a drastic measure and not attribute it to a ‘chip shortage’ in the world," he added.
500 சந்தேகங்கள்
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) May 20, 2023
1000 மர்மங்கள்
2000 பிழைகள்!
கர்நாடகப் படுதோல்வியை
மறைக்க
ஒற்றைத் தந்திரம்!#2000Note #Demonetisation
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader MK Stalin too criticised the move. “500 doubts, 1000 mysteries, 2000 errors! A single trick to hide the Karnataka disaster,” he tweeted, referring to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s defeat in the recent Karnataka Assembly elections.
Maharashtra's opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) too slammed the move as "an admission of failure" by the BJP-led Union government. Nationalist Congress Party ((NCP) national spokesperson Clyde Crasto asked that the government must first clarify what were the exact benefits when the Rs 2,000 notes were introduced, and "how will it gain now that these same notes introduced with fanfare are being withdrawn from the circulation".
"The demonetisation was termed as a 'big success' by the government which had immediately introduced the Rs 2,000 currency notes in the market. If that is so, then why are these notes being withdrawn now and the people being harassed like this," he asked.
Shiv Sena-UBT national spokesperson Kishore Tiwari said that the impact of the latest move on the economy is a major cause of concern as the 2016 demonetisation of Rs 500-Rs 1000 denomination had failed miserably. "The people have a right to know whether this is yet another economic experiment taken up after the November 2016 demonetisation disaster that yielded no tangible benefits to the country. Also, will the government now introduce Rs 1000 notes or will the existing Rs 500 denomination remain the highest in the economy," he said.
The MVA leaders say that such abrupt, drastic measures don't go down well with the ordinary people and also give a wrong message affecting the country's international image.
The Opposition leaders' remarks came after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday announced the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 bank notes from circulation, but said that it would continue as legal tender and can be deposited or exchanged in banks till September 30. The RBI in an official communique said, "In pursuance of the 'Clean Note Policy' of the RBI, it has been decided to withdraw the 2,000 denomination banknotes from circulation". "The banknotes in 2,000 denomination will continue to be legal tender," it said. It also said that all banks shall provide deposit and/or exchange facilities for Rs 2,000 banknotes until September 30.
Meanwhile, former Andhra Pradesh CM and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N Chandrababu Naidu welcomed the decision. "I have been professing for a long time to abolish currency notes of higher denomination which is the root cause of corruption, laundering, hoarding and bribing of voters," said Naidu.