Union govt. has rectified its mistake after 7 years, says Chidambaram on withdrawal of ₹2,000 currency

The former Finance Minister said the Congress had vehemently opposed the introduction of the ₹2000 currency notes

Updated - May 22, 2023 07:50 pm IST - KARAIKUDI

P. Chidambaram said introducing  ₹2000 currency notes was not only a mistake, but also a hasty move. File

P. Chidambaram said introducing ₹2000 currency notes was not only a mistake, but also a hasty move. File | Photo Credit: M. Vedhan

Veteran Congress leader and former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Sunday said he was happy that the BJP government at the Centre has withdrawn the ₹2000 denomination currency notes from circulation at least now.

Speaking to reporters in Karaikudi, he said the Congress had vehemently opposed the introduction of the ₹2000 currency notes then. Not listening to the observations of the Opposition, the BJP government went ahead with it stating that it was a move to curb the black money, he said.

The former FM further added that the government claimed that black money was in the denominations of ₹500 and ₹1000 and that they withdrew the denominations from circulation in 2016. Hence, they introduced ₹2000 currency notes. This was not only a mistake, but also a hasty move.

After a very short period, the Union government re-introduced new ₹500 currency realising that the people rejected or did not use ₹2000 currency notes in the markets. “I am sure and will not be surprised if the Centre re-introduced new Rs 1000 currency notes,” the former FM said and lamented that the government’s decisions had only confused the common man.

Also Read | No form, identity proof needed to exchange ₹2,000 notes: SBI

The Congress had insisted that it was a mistake to have withdrawn ₹500 from circulation then, Mr. Chidambaram said and added that instead of accepting that it was a hasty decision by the BJP to have introduced the ₹2000, they have now took it off from circulation. This is nothing but “Tuglak darbar”, he said.

Rajiv Gandhi remembered

Earlier, Mr. Chidambaram garlanded a statue of late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in Karaikudi marking the death anniversary and also inaugurated a blood donation camp organised by the Congress unit. A large number of public and Congress cadre donated blood and garlanded the portrait of Mr. Gandhi in the town.

Things to keep in mind while exchanging a ₹2,000 note
1. It is not compulsory for someone to be the customer of a bank to get a ₹2,000 note exchanged.
2. A non-account holder can exchange ₹2,000 notes up to ₹20,000 at a time at any bank branch.
3. RBI confirms that people do not have to pay any extra fee to exchange the note.
4. A bank may require you to fill a ‘Request Slip’ to facilitate the exchange.
5. A ‘Request Slip’ may require an identification card to be provided. Aadhaar cards, Driving licenses, Voter ID cards, Passports, NREGA cards, and Population Registers can be provided for the same.
Note: SBI will neither ask customers to fill a request slip, nor provide an identification card.
0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.