Former Principal Secretary Nripendra Mishra said that PM Narendra Modi went ahead with the Rs 2,000 note on the advice of his team. (Getty)
Former principal secretary Nripendra Misra, who oversaw the last demonetisation in 2016, said the poor and middle class do not use the Rs 2,000 note and the prime minister was clear that he did not want the poor to be affected
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not keen on introducing Rs 2,000 notes, but went with his team’s advice” – just a day after the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) notification on withdrawing the notes, the person who Notes, who monitored the last demonetisation in 2016, spoke exclusively to News18.com, making it clear that the recall should not be seen as demonetisation at all.
“It is not demonetisation, it is withdrawal of Rs 2,000 notes. After demonetisation, it was advised to introduce Rs 2000 note, which the Prime Minister did not like. However, on the advice of his team, he allows notes as he is the captain. But he was clear then and so were we that this was a short-term arrangement. The poor and the middle class don’t use Rs 2,000 notes, they use smaller notes like Rs 500 and Rs 100 and the prime minister was clear that he didn’t want the poor to be affected,” said former principal secretary to the PM, Nripendra Mishra.
In an announcement late on Friday, the RBI announced the withdrawal of the notes, calling it a part of the “clean note” policy, which means that higher denomination notes have a shelf life of as little as four-five years. Hence, it was inevitable that the notes would be phased out.
So is there any reason to panic? “Not at all,” said Mishra. “Those who have Rs 2,000 notes can go to their banks and deposit the money or even exchange it. They have no reason to be concerned.”
Experts say that the purpose behind the withdrawal was also to curb black money. “It serves a purpose. Those who have black money, keep it in bigger notes. And this is one of the reasons why it cannot remain in circulation for long.
However, the opposition says that the 2016 demonetisation did not stop black money and only hurt the poor. This is being strongly denied by the government and sources say that there is no plan to withdraw Rs 500 and Rs 100 notes.
