Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel is likely to skip the meeting with the members of the Finance Standing Committee of Parliament on Thursday. Patel was supposed to brief the Finance panel on demonetisation of old Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes and the impact of it, according to top Government sources.
The sources said that the proposed meeting has not been cancelled and discussion on demonetisation will be held as per scheduled plan but without Patel. “Some experts, instead of Patel, representing the RBI will answer questions on the impact of note ban before the 31-member committee, headed by veteran Congress MP Veerappa Moily,” the sources added.
This was the first time Patel was to appear before a Parliamentary panel since demonetisation. As the Winter Session of Parliament remained inconclusive and could not take up discussion on the issue inside the House, the panel is likely to witness detailed deliberations on the subject.
Besides, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament has also asked Patel to appear before it in the second week of January on this issue. The PAC will study demonetisation’s impact on the economy.
Though the ruling BJP are in a majority in the panel, senior Opposition members such as former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Digvijaya Singh, Satish Chandra Mishra, Saugata Roy and Naresh Gujral too are members. Manmohan Singh had made a speech in the Rajya Sabha criticising the Centre’s demonetisation decision.
A senior member in the panel, however, said members are ready with a bunch of questions before the panel. “If Patel is skipping the panel, his representatives have to answer them,” he said.
As per the member, there are a number of issues involved in note ban which have to be unanswered. For instance, what triggered this decisionIJ How prepared the RBI wasIJ By what date will the RBI be able to provide enough notes to the publicIJ What action will be taken against erring officials who helped black money hoarders to launder notesIJ What is the percentage of black money in the economyIJ
“We do not know to what extent Patel’s team will be able to clear our doubts and apprehensions,” he added.