Note ban will lead to temporary slowdown, says Prez Pranab Mukherjee

Mukherjee questions Modi govt's approach, says he is not too sure if the poor can wait too long

President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday issued a note of caution that the Narendra Modi government's demonetisation decision could likely lead to a temporary slowdown in the economy and hurt the poor.

The President called for policymaking that would reduce the suffering of the poor, and seemed to question the focus shift in the government's poverty alleviation programmes and policies from an entitlement-based approach to an entrepreneurial one. Mukherjee said he was "not too sure the poor could wait that long" to endure the gestation involved in the transition.

In his New Year's address to Governors and Lieutenant Governors, the President termed 2016 as