Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday hit out at the critics of the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000, saying that those accusing the government of not being prepared for demonetisation were themselves not ready for the move. “If they had got even 72 hours, they would have praised me. We have taken a very big decision,” he said at a function in Parliament’s library building to release new editions of the Constitution of India on the eve of Constitution Day.
The Prime Minister claimed strong public support for his move, saying, “the common citizen of India has become a soldier against corruption and black money. Every person has a right to spend his or her money. No one can take anyone's money.” He made a strong pitch for the use of electionic transactions in preference to cash exchanges. “Now people can spend through mobile technology also,” he said.
According to senior government sources,Mr. Modi, during Thursday’s Cabinet meet, urged the ministers to run a campaign to encourage electronic transfers of money.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley too, in a video conference with banking heads, urged that banks should encourage as far as possible, the use of debit cards among their customers in preference to taking out currency.
Mr. Modi, in his speech on Friday, pointed out that India was often ranked low in global rankings on corruption. “We need to improve it,” he said.
(With inputs from PTI)
