Making a pitch for Goa a cashless State by year-end, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Sunday said that people in Goa should capitalise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s move to demonetise high denomination notes, which has instantly arrested black money, corruption, drug trade and terror funding.
Parrikar said that being a small State, with healthy IT penetration and mobile connectivity, stood a good chance of going cashless, much before the rest of the country.
“Goa can be a model cashless State,” Parrikar said, adding that Modi had already given him a thumbs up on the challenge.
“Goa has accepted challenge. The Prime Minister told me that Goa has high IT penetration and mobile enability, except in some remote areas... Phone connectivity is also good except for areas people are not allowing towers,” said Parrikar, who on Saturday had meeting with top bureaucrats and bankers in the State to discuss modalities of going cashless.
At the meeting, Parrikar suggested to bring liquor traders, all registered goods and commodities traders, even fisher folks under the cashless transaction umbrella.
Parrikar also said that demonetisation had clicked well with the people of the country, but added that a section of the media was trying to selectively highlight the element of discomfort caused to the common man by the landmark decision, citing a TV news show, in which he says a reporter, who is known for his anti-Modi views, in Delhi asks a chat walla about the impact demonetisation has had on his business.
“Then the reporter asked the chat walla how long will you tolerate this hardship... The chat walla said fifty days and I will tolerate it. He said, it is done for good and will have good impact. Even a poor person who we consider less educated, even he got the message. Efforts on to ensure that people are less affected,” Parrikar also said.
Parrikar also said that demonetisation had already put an end to supari (contract killing) and extortion industry in Mumbai.
“In Mumbai, much of the crime has reduced. Availability of new notes is nearly zero and therefore black money is gone, extortion money is gone, terror money is gone, terror funding, both fake and real which was wasy to transmit because of big notes, are now facing obstacles,” he said.
“After the new notes in Mumbai underworld there is no one to give supari. I am not going into whether giving a supari is right or wrong. Media is here. I am not interested in discussing that aspect, but reality of fact is that because black money and crime money is zero,” The Defence Minister said.