Sitaram Yechury: The point, Sir, is, the black money problem is not going to be solved by this. Black money is not a stock. It is a flow, the bulk of it. Maybe there is a stock of five or six per cent, but the bulk of it is a flow. You are not blocking those avenues. And if you don’t do that, you cannot stop black money. By this, you are killing the poor. The small fishes are dying and crocodiles are enjoying their lives.
The second is about counterfeit notes. Sir, an Indian Statistical Institute of Kolkata study said that of the Rs 1,418 lakh crore under circulation, 0.028 per cent or Rs 400 crore is counterfeit currency. What is the guarantee that counterfeit currency would not come for Rs 2,000 notes? We have already been shown one in Bengaluru. I will be the first one to come in support of the government if you tell me the effective measures. Locate them and the source where it is happening. Stop them. Take action. Give them a deterrent punishment so that others don’t follow. We all will support you.
The third claim is that it is being done to fight terror funding. After the 26/11 attacks, we went on to debate over a new law to combat terrorism. On many issues, we had agreed with the then government, now sitting on the other side, as to how terror funding had to be stopped. Bulk of it is done through electronic transfer. Do you mean to say that the terrorists outside the Taj Hotel in Mumbai were carrying gunny bags of cash? Who are we fooling, Sir? If that has to be stopped, monitor your electronic transfers properly and then cut off that source.
Finally, it is corruption. If you stop these Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, do you think corruption will stop? Now, corruption will double with Rs 2,000 notes. As far as stopping corruption is concerned, you are only looking at its demand side. A poor fellow gives Rs 10. And they don’t even call it corruption. They call it ‘services rendered’. In the balance sheets of corporate accounts, you have this for ‘services rendered’ to siphon off big commissions. That is corruption. Unless you tackle the supply side, you cannot stop corruption. Corporate funding of political parties should stop. Let the corporate funds go to the Election Commission or the Government of India. Let us have a system of state funding for elections. Why should the corporates fund you or me? For them, it is an investment. Stop that.
Deputy Chairman: You are talking about state funding and corporate funding of elections through the Election Commission. So why don’t you move a Private Member’s Bill?
Yechury: Why a Private Member’s Bill? I moved them officially so many times...(Interruptions)... Mr. Digvijaya (Singh) is right. Immediately, they will call it a Money Bill and then the Rajya Sabha will be out of the picture.
Deputy Chairman But your suggestion is very constructive.
Yechury: Sir, the second thing is, you add the expenditure of political parties along with candidates under the ceiling. Increase the ceiling if you want to. But, don’t give this open-ended exemption. Political parties spend what they want and how they want. Where have we reached? With a corporate name on the plane, the Prime Minister-elect can go for election campaigns. Hundreds of helicopters are employed. Everybody says it is party fund. Where is that money coming from? Stop that. Put that under the exemptions and do it if you are serious.
Edited excerpts from the speech of Sitaram Yechury, MP (the Communist Party of India-Marxist)during the debate on demonetisation in the Rajya Sabha, 16 November, in New Delhi
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