With most concessions and exemptions as far as trade in old notes having ended on December 15, things appear to be going from bad to worse despite the Reserve Bank of India’s claim of there being a fair amount of liquidity. There are still serpentine queues outside ATMs. This is because ATMs are either closed from evening on certain days or are running out of money in no time. With reports coming in of huge seizures of new denomination notes across the country, the common man is fast losing hope and there seems to be no end in sight to his ordeal. There are no concessions in the distribution of new notes for the salaried class despite it paying taxes through its nose and constituting over 50 per cent of the base of IT assessees. Nearly 80 per cent of debit cardholders use cards only for withdrawal of cash. The RBI must issue daily bulletins on how much liquidity there is.
S. Srinivasan,
Chennai
A disturbing feature which has surfaced ever since demonetisation is the increasing number of financial malpractices unearthed between bank staff and wrong-doers. That this is happening across the country is serious. This is also creating deep mistrust of the banking system. Gone are the days when a banker was regarded as a friend, philosopher and guide and who possessed a high degree of integrity. An uncompromising work culture and impeccable ethical conduct for banks are the need of the hour.
S.R.S. Ayyar,
Mumbai
Venezuela’s experience as far as demonetisation is concerned should serve as an eye-opener for the Indian government as it still works on testing the endurance levels of Indians instead of working towards a goal of remonetisation. All political parties must take note of the immense suffering being caused to the common man.
Abinash Singh,
Patiala, Punjab
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remark that demonetisation and cashless transactions will make the country corruption-free is never going to work. The remark is bound to make people uncomfortable as it is said that each electronic transaction will result in a user bearing an additional service tax of Rs.25 depending on whether it is under National Electronic Fund Transfer or Real Time Gross Settlement. It is also estimated that only 2 per cent of the population is truly interested in a cashless economy despite innumerable advertisements that are attempting to promote it. Mr Modi needs to understand the country’s needs and wishes. His comment is insensitive.
K.A. Solaman,
Alappuzha, Kerala
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said: “There is no official estimation of the amount of black money either before or after the government’s decision of November 8.” Does this not amount to backtracking on the issue and also fooling us? He should realise that public memory is not that short as to forget the various statements and promises made by his party and the government right from 2014, at different forums, including the Supreme Court. If what Mr. Jaitley now says is the truth, how could the Prime Minister and some others in his government go on repeating that demonetisation is primarily intended to end black money? This is as bad as the official half-truths on ‘ending the cash crunch’.
P.R.V. Raja,
Pandalam, Kerala
If what Mr. Jaitley has said is true, how could the Prime Minister make such a vital decision regarding demonetisation without an idea of the extent of black money? In order to punish a negligible percentage of the population which has eaten into the vitals of governance, the government has chosen to inconvenience the majority.
G.M. Rama Rao,
Visakhapatnam
For me, the most disturbing aspect in the demonetisation saga so far has been the stand and attitude of the judiciary. Fine, it cannot question the basic move as such. But is it not aware of how this move has severely disrupted several livelihoods. People have died under the stress of waiting in queues? Whatever be its motives or compulsions, the government has no business disturbing our lives in normal conditions. There is no war, famine, epidemic or nation-wide natural calamity to impose monetary curbs. Are these measures not violative of minimum constitutional guarantees? Why is the judiciary not taking suo motu recognition of such issues and subjecting the government to some relentless questioning? Where would people go to but the court when the government is hardening its stand with each passing day?
M. Balakrishnan,
Bangalore
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has cited extracts from a book by former bureaucrat Madhav Godbole to buttress his claim about Indira Gandhi being forced to baulk at demonetisation on electoral compulsions (“For Congress, party is above country: Modi”, Dec.17). There is no reason to disbelieve Mr. Godbole’s account, given his outstanding credentials as a civil servant. At the same time, it also shows that Mrs. Gandhi, unlike the present BJP leadership, was honest enough in admitting the role of black money in contesting elections, though a very sad commentary on the ethics, morality and purity of our electoral process. Does Mr. Modi like the nation to believe that no black money was used in his party’s mega-campaign in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, given the fact that a major chunk of any party’s funds are from unknown sources? Other parties are of course no better in this regard.
S.K. Choudhury,
Bengaluru
