The 2016 demonetization was a ‘Black Chapter’ for the country which brought massive loss to economy and caused distress to citizens, Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee President Mohan Markam said on Sunday.
Addressing the media on the fourth anniversary of demonetization, Markam said the Congress held a nationwide online ‘Speak Up’ campaign to mark the day as ‘Vishwasghaat Diwas’ (Betrayal Day).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi committed a catastrophe by demonetizing overnight Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes and should seek an apology for the blunder, he said.
He pointed out the claim of return of Rs 80 lakh crore black money was made but 99.3 percent of the cash returned to the banks. So, the target failed.
The second claim was it would hit terrorism and Naxalism. Within a week in Kashmir, new currency notes were recovered from the terrorists. Similarly, Naxalite incidents rose despite the demonetization.
The decision was also disastrous as across the country within three days large numbers of fake currency were seized even from smaller towns.
The issue of Rs 2,000 currency note only promoted corruption. The logic of ending corruption nosedived. Several bank officials were caught while converting black money into white. Makam said demonetization can be termed as one of the biggest organized scams in India.
On cashless economy and transparency, Markam said the reality is that when compared to March 2016, in March 2020 there has been an increase in cash transactions by 50 percent. Thus this concept also did not work.
The loan load on the country in 2014 was around 55 lakh crore which after 5 years is around Rs 82 lakh crore. The economy was hit the hardest during this period, the Congress leader said.
