Demonetisation is 'organised loot, legalised plunder': Manmohan
New Delhi, Nov 24, 2016, PTI:
After five days of confrontation, Rajya Sabha today saw resumption of debate on demonetisation briefly during which former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh led the opposition attack, saying the step was a "monumental management failure" which would lead to dip in GDP growth by at least 2 per cent.
Singh termed demonetisation as "a case of organised loot and legalised plunder".
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the House, the opposition and the ruling side came to an agreement to do away with the Question Hour and resume the debate, which had been left incomplete on November 16.
Leader of the House and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the Prime Minister will also participate in the debate.
The opposition had been demanding presence of the Prime Minister for resumption of the debate for the last five days. Modi attended the House during Question Hour as Thursday is the day of questions listed against the PM's name.
Debate was resumed during the Question Hour, from 12 pm to 1 pm, after which the House went into lunch break. When it met again at 2 pm, the Prime Minister was not there, prompting the opposition parties to demand his presence again as they wanted him to listen to all the speakers.
Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said the discussion should be carried forward as the Leader of the House has said that Prime Minister will come.
Opposition members then trooped into the Well of the House shouting slogans like "bring back black money, stop making false promises".
Jaitley said his "apprehensions" that the opposition did not want the debate had come true as they were looking for "excuses" to run away from the discussion.
As pandemonium prevailed, the House was adjourned till 3 PM and then for the day as the same situation existed.
Earlier speaking during the debate, Singh said, "These measures convinced me that the way the scheme has been implemented, it's a monumental management failure."
The noted economist said the decision will result in decline of GDP by 2 per cent, which was an "under-estimate and not an over-estimate".
He said he agreed with the objectives of the scheme to demonetise currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 as spelt out by the Prime Minister but he wished to highlight the problems that the common people and poor have been subjected to by the move.
"It is not my intention to pick holes what this side or other side does. But I sincerely hope that the PM even in this late hour will help find us practical and pragmatic ways to provide relief to the suffering of the people of this country," the former Prime Minister said.
Singh termed demonetisation as "a case of organised loot and legalised plunder".
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the House, the opposition and the ruling side came to an agreement to do away with the Question Hour and resume the debate, which had been left incomplete on November 16.
Leader of the House and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the Prime Minister will also participate in the debate.
The opposition had been demanding presence of the Prime Minister for resumption of the debate for the last five days. Modi attended the House during Question Hour as Thursday is the day of questions listed against the PM's name.
Debate was resumed during the Question Hour, from 12 pm to 1 pm, after which the House went into lunch break. When it met again at 2 pm, the Prime Minister was not there, prompting the opposition parties to demand his presence again as they wanted him to listen to all the speakers.
Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said the discussion should be carried forward as the Leader of the House has said that Prime Minister will come.
Opposition members then trooped into the Well of the House shouting slogans like "bring back black money, stop making false promises".
Jaitley said his "apprehensions" that the opposition did not want the debate had come true as they were looking for "excuses" to run away from the discussion.
As pandemonium prevailed, the House was adjourned till 3 PM and then for the day as the same situation existed.
Earlier speaking during the debate, Singh said, "These measures convinced me that the way the scheme has been implemented, it's a monumental management failure."
The noted economist said the decision will result in decline of GDP by 2 per cent, which was an "under-estimate and not an over-estimate".
He said he agreed with the objectives of the scheme to demonetise currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 as spelt out by the Prime Minister but he wished to highlight the problems that the common people and poor have been subjected to by the move.
"It is not my intention to pick holes what this side or other side does. But I sincerely hope that the PM even in this late hour will help find us practical and pragmatic ways to provide relief to the suffering of the people of this country," the former Prime Minister said.
Singh said the common man and the poor have been in distress after the decision and hoped that the Prime Minister would find a "practical and pragmatic" decision to mitigate their sufferings.
He also disagreed with Modi's plea to wait for 50 days for the results of demonetisation to come about, saying no one knows about the final outcome of the decision.
"Well, 50 days is a short period but for those who are poor and deprived sections of the community even 50 days of torture can bring about disastrous effect," the former Prime Minister said, adding that's why about 60 to 65 people have lost their lives.
"What has been done can weaken and erode people's confidence in the currency system and in the banking system," he said, while observing that agriculture, unorganised sector and small industry have been hit hard.
Singh criticised the government for issuing instruction after instruction and modifying the rules every day on the conditions under which people can withdraw their own money.
"That reflects very poorly on the Prime Minister's Office, the Finance Minister's office and on the Reserve Bank of India," he said.
"I feel sorry that the Reserve Bank has been exposed to this kind of criticism which I think is fully justified," he said.
Referring to those saying that the move which was doing harm and creating distrust in the short run was good in the long run, Singh quoted renowned economist John Maynard Keyne to say that "in the long run, all of us are dead."
Asking Modi to spell out the names of countries where people have deposited their money in banks but are not allowed to withdraw it, he said, this alone is enough to condemn what has been done in the name of greater growth.
Participating in the debate, Naresh Agrawal (SP) said his party was against demonetisation and dubbed it as a "second emergency" that has brought about financial emergency in the country.
Such decisions have been taken "only by dictators" and not by elected governments anywhere in the world.
Agrawal said no one has the power to implement such a decision without the consent and approval of both Houses of Parliament, as the Parliamentarians are the true public representatives of people of the country.
He questioned as to how this decision was taken without any discussion in Parliament.
He said it is a very dangerous decision for the country and not in national interest.
The decision was taken only keeping in view the upcoming UP assembly polls, the Samajwadi Party leader said.
He also lamented that the decisions announced by the government have not been notified by the Reserve Bank of India which is yet to issue instructions to banks.
Welcoming Modi's presence in the House, the SP leader said it is good that government has shed its rigidity.
He said the Prime Minister was not aware of the ground realities where people were suffering largely on account of the scrapping of high value currency notes.
Agrawal recalled how even former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who enforced Emergency in the country, was informed at the time that the move has gone well with the public who support it.
But what happened in elections later was seen by all, the SP leader said, adding the demonetisation step will bring the same fate to this government if elections are held now.
Taking a dig at the BJP over its promise of bringing back black money stashed abroad, he asked it to declare when it would do so.
Agrawal also asked the government to declare how much is the NPAs of banks in India in comparison to foreign banks.
Agarwal also took a dig at the Prime Minister for making an emotive speech in Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh that he may be killed for his bold decisions.
He said Modi was free to roam around in Uttar Pradesh, which is ruled by his party SP, without fear as law and order situation was good in the state. This evoked laughter, with the Prime Minister too having a hearty laugh.
Agrawal also claimed that the demonetisation move was announced by Modi without taking Jaitley into confidence.
He said if the Finance Minister had known about it, he would have informed Samajwadi Party leaders, evoking another round of laughter.
In a retort, Jaitley said the real problem has come to light now.
BSP chief Mayawati said the decision to scrap high value notes was taken "without adequate preparation" because of which 95 per cent people were facing problems.
Referring to the government's survey to gauge people's views on demonetisation in which 90 per cent out of initial responses had supported the decision, she said that in fact 90 per cent people were facing immense problems.
She dared the government to dissolve the Lok Sabha and go to elections and see the result right now.
TMC leader Derek O'Brien said the government was trying to build a narrative that anyone opposing demonetisation is supporting the corrupt.
He questioned the government as to why it is giving lectures on corruption and blackmoney.
He said his party was opposing because it thinks the people are suffering and economy will be killed.
The Trinamool leader asked the government why it was creating this impression that it is some messiah and all in the opposition are devils.
O'Brien said if the government wanted to hold an inquiry, it should do it. He said if the government wanted to send his party leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to jail, it should try it.
He also took a swipe at the survey on Namo App and asked who were the 92 per cent people who were making the government happy.
He suggested that old Rs 500 notes should be allowed to function parallely with the new notes for a longer time as well as printing of more smaller denomination notes.
Secrecy cannot be an excuse for putting people to pain, he said, adding that 4 out of 5 villages did not have banks.
He also disagreed with Modi's plea to wait for 50 days for the results of demonetisation to come about, saying no one knows about the final outcome of the decision.
"Well, 50 days is a short period but for those who are poor and deprived sections of the community even 50 days of torture can bring about disastrous effect," the former Prime Minister said, adding that's why about 60 to 65 people have lost their lives.
"What has been done can weaken and erode people's confidence in the currency system and in the banking system," he said, while observing that agriculture, unorganised sector and small industry have been hit hard.
Singh criticised the government for issuing instruction after instruction and modifying the rules every day on the conditions under which people can withdraw their own money.
"That reflects very poorly on the Prime Minister's Office, the Finance Minister's office and on the Reserve Bank of India," he said.
"I feel sorry that the Reserve Bank has been exposed to this kind of criticism which I think is fully justified," he said.
Referring to those saying that the move which was doing harm and creating distrust in the short run was good in the long run, Singh quoted renowned economist John Maynard Keyne to say that "in the long run, all of us are dead."
Asking Modi to spell out the names of countries where people have deposited their money in banks but are not allowed to withdraw it, he said, this alone is enough to condemn what has been done in the name of greater growth.
Participating in the debate, Naresh Agrawal (SP) said his party was against demonetisation and dubbed it as a "second emergency" that has brought about financial emergency in the country.
Such decisions have been taken "only by dictators" and not by elected governments anywhere in the world.
Agrawal said no one has the power to implement such a decision without the consent and approval of both Houses of Parliament, as the Parliamentarians are the true public representatives of people of the country.
He questioned as to how this decision was taken without any discussion in Parliament.
He said it is a very dangerous decision for the country and not in national interest.
The decision was taken only keeping in view the upcoming UP assembly polls, the Samajwadi Party leader said.
He also lamented that the decisions announced by the government have not been notified by the Reserve Bank of India which is yet to issue instructions to banks.
Welcoming Modi's presence in the House, the SP leader said it is good that government has shed its rigidity.
He said the Prime Minister was not aware of the ground realities where people were suffering largely on account of the scrapping of high value currency notes.
Agrawal recalled how even former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who enforced Emergency in the country, was informed at the time that the move has gone well with the public who support it.
But what happened in elections later was seen by all, the SP leader said, adding the demonetisation step will bring the same fate to this government if elections are held now.
Taking a dig at the BJP over its promise of bringing back black money stashed abroad, he asked it to declare when it would do so.
Agrawal also asked the government to declare how much is the NPAs of banks in India in comparison to foreign banks.
Agarwal also took a dig at the Prime Minister for making an emotive speech in Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh that he may be killed for his bold decisions.
He said Modi was free to roam around in Uttar Pradesh, which is ruled by his party SP, without fear as law and order situation was good in the state. This evoked laughter, with the Prime Minister too having a hearty laugh.
Agrawal also claimed that the demonetisation move was announced by Modi without taking Jaitley into confidence.
He said if the Finance Minister had known about it, he would have informed Samajwadi Party leaders, evoking another round of laughter.
In a retort, Jaitley said the real problem has come to light now.
BSP chief Mayawati said the decision to scrap high value notes was taken "without adequate preparation" because of which 95 per cent people were facing problems.
Referring to the government's survey to gauge people's views on demonetisation in which 90 per cent out of initial responses had supported the decision, she said that in fact 90 per cent people were facing immense problems.
She dared the government to dissolve the Lok Sabha and go to elections and see the result right now.
TMC leader Derek O'Brien said the government was trying to build a narrative that anyone opposing demonetisation is supporting the corrupt.
He questioned the government as to why it is giving lectures on corruption and blackmoney.
He said his party was opposing because it thinks the people are suffering and economy will be killed.
The Trinamool leader asked the government why it was creating this impression that it is some messiah and all in the opposition are devils.
O'Brien said if the government wanted to hold an inquiry, it should do it. He said if the government wanted to send his party leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to jail, it should try it.
He also took a swipe at the survey on Namo App and asked who were the 92 per cent people who were making the government happy.
He suggested that old Rs 500 notes should be allowed to function parallely with the new notes for a longer time as well as printing of more smaller denomination notes.
Secrecy cannot be an excuse for putting people to pain, he said, adding that 4 out of 5 villages did not have banks.
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