The RBI report stating that all but 1.4 per cent of the old Rs 1,000 notes have returned to the banking system post demonetisation "points to a big scam", West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today alleged.
The Reserve Bank said in its Annual Report for 2016-17 that only Rs 16,050 crore out of the Rs 15.44 lakh crore of the old high denomination notes had not returned.
"Is not the RBI's revelation this evening on demonetisation pointing to a big scam?" Banerjee wrote on her Facebook wall tonight.
"I feel it (demonetisation) was totally a flop show. 99 per cent of the demonetised currency has come back to the RBI. Only one per cent has not returned," she said.
She wondered if there was some "hidden agenda" behind the decision to scrap old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes.
Because of demonetisation, the country lost Rs three lakh crore in the fourth quarter and hundreds of people died, she claimed.
"Demonetisation was supposedly done to uncover several lakhs of crores of black money. And now what we have got is a big big zero!" Banerjee said.
The government had on November 8 banned old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in an attempt to weed out black money in the country. The old notes were allowed to be deposited in banks, with unusual deposits coming under income tax scrutiny.
The government replaced old Rs 500 notes with the new ones, but no replacement for Rs 1000 notes has been made. Instead, a new Rs 2,000 note was introduced post note ban.
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