New Delhi: After former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh described the management of demonetisation as a ‘monumental failure, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley hit back, saying "It is disappointing to hear from people who were in charge of the government when the most black money was generated, most corruption scandals came to the fore."
Jaitley also claimed that the Opposition was taken by surprise when it was informed that Prime Minister Modi will speak in Parliament about his sudden decision to cancel high-denomination notes.
"We were not surprised when we heard from those who ran the government between 2004 and 2014 that they didn't like these anti-black money steps. The maximum black money was generated in the country between 2004 and 2014. Commonwealth Games scandal, the 2G corruption scandal, the coal block scandal all took place during this period," he said.
"Those who didn't consider these scandals to be a blunder are now considering this campaign against corruption and black money to be a blunder," he added.
Jaitley said that instead of engaging with the government in a debate over demonetisation, the Congress is "manufacturing reasons" to run away from the debate.
Responding to Dr. Singh claims that the demonetisation will weaken the Indian economy and adversely impact the GDP of the country, Jaitley said, ""as far as the medium and long term impact on the economy is concerned, including on India's GDP, it is going to be a positive impact. Lot of money that operates in the shadow economy will now be a part of banking structure. The banks will have a lot more to support the economy. The private sector investment which was so far lacking will now be back into the economy."
He said that the banks which were hitherto struggling because of the NPA problem would have a lot more money to lend for agriculture, infrastructure, social sector and the possibility of banks lending at lower cost would also rise.
"Additionally, when more and more transactions comes into the banking network in the long run, you will find taxation, both direct and indirect, improving therefore in the medium and long term, it will have a positive impact," he said.
However, following Manmohan’s speech, Modi walked up to the ex-PM and shook hands with him, reported NDTV.
The Prime Minister, accompanied Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, was also seen talking to senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma along with other Opposition members.
Stepping up the opposition tirade against demonetisation, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday castigated the government and the Prime Minister over the move, saying its implementation was a "monumental management failure" and a case of "organised loot and legalised plunder."
Singh, who spoke in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Rajya Sabha, said the decision will result in decline of GDP by 2 per cent, it being an "under-estimate".
He hoped the Prime Minister will find a practical and pragmatic decision to mitigate the sufferings of the common man and the poor who have been in distress after the decision.
He said agriculture, unorganised sectors and small industry has also been hit hard by it and people were losing faith in the currency and banking system.
"These measures convinced me that the way the scheme has been implemented, it's a monumental management failure. And in fact, it is a case of organised loot and legalised plunder.
"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," he said in Rajya Sabha as the debate on the issue resumed after Modi came into the House.
Earlier, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad requested Chairman Hamid Ansari and Leader of the House Arun Jaitley that the Question Hour should not be taken up as the Prime Minister was present in the House and the debate be taken up.
Azad's request was readily accepted by the government with Jaitley saying that the debate should start immediately and Modi will certainly participate in it.
Participating in the resumed debate, Singh said it is important to take note of the grievances of the ordinary people who have suffered as a result of this imposition on the country "overnight" by the Prime Minister.
"My own feeling is that the national income, that is the GDP of the country, can decline by about 2 percentage points as a result of what has been done. This is an under-estimate and not an over-estimate.
"Therefore, I feel the Prime Minister must come with some constructive proposal on how we can implement the scheme and at the same time prevent the distrust that has been caused to the common people," Singh said.
