NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday renewed his criticism of the 2016 demonetisation exercise, calling it the “biggest corruption scandal in the world” and alleging that it had damaged banks, small traders and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).Addressing a press conference in Lucknow, Yadav invoked his “Khajanchi” jibe against demonetisation, marking 10 years of the child associated with his criticism of the currency ban.He said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) should adopt Khajanchi and celebrate his birthday, while accusing the party of failing to acknowledge the consequences of the policy.“Today Khajanchi turned 10. We have been celebrating its birthday since the beginning, but sadly the Bharatiya Janata Party has never celebrated Khajanchi’s birthday. Bharatiya Janata Party should adopt it, but not how their MPs adopted villages,” Yadav said.He alleged that demonetisation had increased cash circulation and described the exercise as “slow poison” for the economy. He also claimed that the move had been intended to “sink the banks”.
Yadav alleges damage to banks, MSMEs
The SP chief questioned the government’s banking reforms, including the merger and privatisation of banks, and alleged that demonetisation had weakened the banking system.“The circulation of cash has increased by 70 per cent compared to what it was earlier. There is a long list of the damage that has been caused to MSMEs and small traders,” he said.Yadav also criticised banks for deducting money from customers in the form of penalties, alleging that the banking system had become more difficult to navigate than dealing with moneylenders.“Demonetisation became a curse for banks. Banks themselves were shut down, banks were merged, and even banks had to be sold,” he said.He challenged the government to debate India’s economic position at the time of Independence in 1947 and its stated ambition of becoming a developed country by 2047.“The truth is that these people keep throwing around the slogan of a developed India by 2047. One negative decision like demonetisation has pushed India’s economy even further behind the economic position we had in 1947, when we became independent,” Yadav said.“If they feel these allegations are not true, let us have a debate on this as well. Let there be a debate on what the economic situation was in 1947 and what it will be in 2047, and how far they have pushed us backwards,” he added.
Centre cites tax action after demonetisation
The Centre announced the withdrawal of the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes on November 8, 2016, saying the move was aimed at tackling tax evasion and black money.The government has maintained that the exercise was successful in increasing the number of income tax returns filed.According to the finance ministry, the Income Tax Department conducted search and seizure operations against 900 groups between November 2016 and March 2017. These actions resulted in the seizure of Rs 900 crore, including cash worth Rs 636 crore, and the admission of undisclosed income of about Rs 7,961 crore.Opposition parties have repeatedly questioned whether demonetisation achieved its stated objectives.
Yogi Adityanath targets SP over recruitment
Share your thoughts in the comments
Be respectful · TOI community guidelines
Yadav’s remarks came amid a fresh exchange between the Samajwadi Party and the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday accused the SP and the Congress of corruption, nepotism and irregularities in government recruitment before 2017.Speaking at a programme for distributing appointment letters to 1,146 newly selected junior assistants in the Revenue Department, Adityanath alleged that a “Saifai syndicate” had controlled recruitment commissions and boards under previous governments.Without naming Yadav, the chief minister took aim at the SP chief over his criticism of the government’s announcement on distributing appointment letters to one lakh young people.Adityanath alleged that candidates had been cheated through recruitment irregularities, with some paying money to secure jobs while others lost out despite preparing for examinations. He also claimed that around 1.5 lakh police posts were vacant when his government took office in 2017.The chief minister accused previous SP governments of lawlessness and said Uttar Pradesh had since seen improvements in law and order, employment opportunities and business activity.