RBI Governor Urjit Patel will appear before a parliamentary panel for a second briefing on demonetisation on June 8, and not on May 25 as scheduled, as work on framing the monetary policy will be under way at that time.
The Standing Committee on Finance, which had questioned Mr. Patel on January 18 on the move to ban notes of ₹500 and ₹1,000 denominations, allowed him to appear at a later date after he made a request expressing his inability.
Manmohan to the rescue
Mr. Patel has been asked to appear on May 25 after former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh prevailed upon the BJP MPs on the panel, who were opposed to summoning the RBI Governor again.
It was Mr. Singh who had rescued Patel from a tough grilling during the January meeting when he intervened to say the Reserve Bank and the Governor’s position as an institution should be respected. He should not be put to odd questions, Mr. Singh, who himself was RBI Governor once, is believed to have told the standing committee.
Instead of Mr. Patel, all secretaries from the Finance Ministry will be present on May 25 to update the panel about digital economy. The panel is chaired by Congress leader M. Veerappa Moily, .
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who is a member of the panel, has suggested to the chairman that it now deliberate on digital economy, as “demonetisation was not an issue any more”.
The members are now likely to question Mr. Patel on how much money has come back into the system.
