The popular notion that demonetisation will curb black money is misleading (“ >Rs. 500, Rs. 1,000 notes no longer legal tender ”, Nov. 9). While it is correct that there are fake notes in circulation and this decision will eradicate the menace for some time, we can’t ignore the fact that this is a political move, coming as it does before the elections. Also, any person who has become wealthy illegally may not store all of it in hard cash. In the battle against black money, I hope the informal sector is not in trouble.
Karthik G.,
Chennai
If Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes cease to become legal tender and new notes of the same denomination are introduced, is there a guarantee that duplicates of the new ones will not be out in the market sooner or later? And what if a customer deposits his old notes in a bank and they turn out to be fake? What will a poor wage labourer, who has earned, say, Rs. 500 today do? How will he or she buy anything? I wish the government did not thrust this decision upon us overnight and cause this chaos.
N.R. Raghuram,
Hyderabad
The government’s intention may be good, but people have been subjected to a lot of stress. I know people who were waiting to buy train tickets last night, but were turned back even though the government has exempted the rule in railway counters, airports and hospitals. The government should have made the announcement early morning on November 8 so we could have all been prepared.
M. L. Raghavan,
Chennai
