This refers to the editorial, “A cashless society” (April 19). It looks an unannounced demonetisation has once again kicked off in the country with ATMs going dry in several States. Interestingly, the cash crunch seems to have caught the Government just as unaware as the masses, leaving the people wondering about who controls the cash flow in the country.
The current state of shaken confidence in the banking system has been blamed for the cash crunch. Banks penalise account holders when their balance falls below a certain limit; should the banks not be penalised now when customers are being inconvenienced in spite of having sufficient money in their accountsIJ Strangely, the crisis has erupted when Prime Minister Modi is on a trip to Europe and the Karnataka Assembly election is not to far away. Reserve Bank of India Governor too is not available.
Needless to say, the Modi Government could have done without this embarrassing situation. As if bank frauds were not enough, now the BJP Government is not even able to run the banking system properly. The Opposition, particularly the Congress, will definitely score brownie points on this over the BJP Government — a party which while in the Opposition used to throw barbs at the Congress-led Government for policy paralysis and administrative lapses. This incident is bount to dent the BJP’s image inevitably.