There is a severe shortage of 100 rupee notes. Cash is drying up fast at ATMs, which are witnessing unprecedented queues, while serpentine queues outside bank branches mean that a lot of people are coming away disappointed. – Tushar Dhara
BJP MP Subramanian Swamy has lashed out at the government’s poor planning and execution of the demonetisation drive and the subsequent currency chaos that has engulfed India.
Swamy, also a member of BJP’s national executive, told the South China Morning Post daily that he was “appalled by the lack of preparation” in this regard by Finance Ministry.
“It is easy to argue that the ministry was not in the loop, but that is no excuse for not having a contingency plan,” he was quoted by SCMP.
“Ad hoc roadside kiosks should have been set up for all and special kiosks organised for senior citizens. All these should have been planned as part of a contingency plan,” Swamy said in Hong Kong, where he will give a talk on the anti-corruption efforts in India at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said in a press briefing that ATMs had not been recalibrated and that it would take up to 3 weeks for all the 2 lakh teller machines in India to start dispensing the new currency notes.
Jaitley estimated that it would take 21 days to recalibrate all the 2 lakh ATMs in the country so that they are able to dispense the new bank notes.
That was little consolation for people queuing up outside banks and ATMs on Sunday amid heavy crowds and serpentine queues. A bank holiday on Monday in some parts of the country has added to the desperation of people who are running out of lower denomination notes for meeting day to day expenses. People lining up outside ATMs on Saturday night and Sunday morning have not been able to withdraw money because the ATMs are shut or have run out of cash.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today asked Indians to put up with the inconvenience of demonetization for 50 days, or until December 30, in a speech in Goa.
The Prime Minister in a televised announcement on November 8 said that 500 and 1,000 rupee notes would cease to be legal tender from midnight that night. He also said that ATMs would be shut for the next 2 days and would start working on November 11.
But 3 days later, there is a severe shortage of 100 rupee notes (which are still legal tender). Cash is drying up fast at ATMs, which are witnessing unprecedented queues, while serpentine queues outside bank branches mean that a lot of people are coming away disappointed.
A cap of Rs. 4,000 has been imposed on withdrawals from bank branches while ATM withdrawals ave been limited to Rs. 2,000 per card per day till November 18, after which it will be raised to Rs. 4,000. – News 18, 13 November 2016
Subramanian Swamy blames Arun Jaitley for inconvenience of people – FE Online
BJP MP Subramanian Swamy blames Finance Ministry for the inconvenience of people due to demonetisation and said that the step alone will not end black money. He called a need of overall “package” considering several measures to combat black money and said that to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about it in a letter, ToI quoted Swamy as saying.
Since the ban on the old currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, the step has been criticised by various sections of the society. From various political leaders to common men, many people are blaming the Centre for the inconvenience faced due to demonetisation. In the middle of the hullabaloo, Swamy blamed Union Minister Arun Jaitley for “lack of preparedness” for the step. Taking note of the difficulties faced by the people, he said that the government should make arrangements of temporary counters for exchanging currencies, especially for senior citizens.
The Rajya Sabha member said that he cannot say how the step will work because “the Indians are very intelligent and there are already discounting processes on”.
He also did not support the statement of Jaitley where he said the currency ban will lead to cheaper elections and said it will only “make fighting elections more difficult”.
In a major shock to the nation, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the ban on high-value currency notes on November 8 midnight. Soon after the move, an uproar had been generated in the nation with people commenting on the impact and consequences of the step. – The Financial Express, 14 November 2016
»Tushar Dhara is a former general and financial journalist who escaped from the mainstream press to live and work in rural Rajasthan with the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan on issues of access to information and minimum wages and teach at the School for Democracy.
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