Note ban: One may differ from decision, but calling it 'scam' is 'absurd', says Govt

New Delhi: Hitting out at the opposition for dubbing demonetisation as a "scam", Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu today said one may differ over the government's decision but calling it a scandal is "absurd".

He termed the opposition allegation that the ban of high value currency notes is "fraud and plunder" as "devil quoting scriptures" and charged the previous UPA government with presiding over various scams.

The minister accused the opposition of "changing goalposts" and said the government is ready for discussion on any and every issue in Parliament, including the issue of arrest of former IAF chief S P Tyagi over the multi-crore AgustaWestland deal.

"You (opposition) may not agree with that initiative (demonetisation). You can criticise, I have no problem. But damning it fully and calling it scam is really absurd. It speaks of the level to which the politics of country has sunk," Naidu said on the sidelines of 'Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development' here.

Naidu said demonetisation would have some problem in the short-term but it was going to be useful for the country in long-term.

"We have been saying, (demonetisation) is a short-term pain for the long-term gain or a bitter pill for long-term ill. It's a long-term ill created by previous rulers over the years...scams and scandals, plunder and loot of public money and resources like coal, 2G, 3G...All these were looted under whose leadership, everybody knows.”

"But they are now accusing our government, they are calling this as a fraud and plunder and loot of public money. It is very surprising. It is like devil quoting the scriptures," he said.

Referring to issues like the arrest of the former IAF chief, sting operation showing politicians offering to convert black money into white and wrongdoings by some bank officials post demonetisation, Naidu said all these need to be discussed in Parliament.

"There are other issues in Parliament, now the latest is the arrest of the former Air Chief. That is something unprecedented in the history of the country...sting operation...bank officers indulging in fraud...all these issues need a thorough debate in Parliament and for that every political party must come forward," he said.

"They (the opposition) first welcomed the remonetisation but later accused that it is a madness, a scam, a scandal. I am not able to understand where is the question of any scam or scandal. It's a radical initiative taken by the Prime Minister," he said.

On inquiry over the allegations that some NGOs have indulged in converting black money into white, Naidu said, "Let facts come out first. Of course, the inquiry has to be conducted. It is a serious matter."

Rubbishing the opposition charge that the Prime Minister is changing the goalpost, he said the issues of black money, corruption, terrorism, demonetisation and cashless transactions are all inter-connected.

He said digital transfer will "considerably" reduce corruption and black money and bring more fund into the system with more people coming into the tax net.