Government's move to demonetise high-value currency notes does not address the problem of blackmoney stashed abroad or invested in real estate or gold, the CPI(M) said today, demanding that the names of top 100 defaulters of bank loans be made public.
Observing that the move was only meant to "harrass" the people, party General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said "to uncover the illicit money trail, we demand that the govt release the name of Top 100 defaulters of bank loans."
In a series of tweets, he asked "What are the estimates of black money that will be curbed by this move? Govt should make the figures public."
"What is the cost of withdrawing currency notes and replacing them with Rs 2000 notes? Also, its economic and social costs must be made public," Yechury asked.
"If no such data exists, as one fears, it only proves that it is another 'jumla' like Rs 15 lakh in each account or 2 crore jobs per year," he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "announcement neither addresses the major sources of black money abroad nor those invested in property, gold and such instruments."
Yechury said the demonetisation exercise was "attempted as a gimmick to divert attention from serious social and political failures of this govt in past 2.5 years."
He said the government's move was "poorly planned and not thought through" and it meant "harassment for millions not connected to the banking system."
Quoting reports about ATMs drying out and train counters or others refusing to accept Rs 500 currency notes, he said the worst-hit are the working people, daily wagers and the salaried class.
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