President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday welcomed what he termed the “bold step” of the Union government “which will help unearth unaccounted money and counterfeit currency.”
He was responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surprise announcement demonetising notes of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 denomination notes.
Mr. Modi had called on President Mukherjee earlier in the evening to inform him of the decision taken by his government.
“President Mukherjee welcomed the bold step of the Government of India which will help unearth unaccounted money & counterfeit currency,” said a statement from Rashtrapati Bhavan.
He called upon people not to panic and follow government guidelines for exchange of Rs. 1,000/500 notes. He also reminded people that all currency notes below Rs. 500 would continue as legal tender.
