Demonetisation a cruel conspiracy, money laundering scheme, says Rahul Gandhi

Narendra Modi on November 8, 2016, announced a ban on then in use Rs 1000 and Rs 500 denomination bank notes with immediate effect.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi. Photo: INCIndia/Twitter

NEW DELHI: Congress President Rahul Gandhi targetted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the second anniversary of his demonetisation scheme, saying the note ban was a "cruel conspiracy" and a "scam". Taking to Twitter, Gandhi said: "Note ban was a planned and cruel conspiracy. This scam was a scheme to launder black money of the Prime Minister's cronies." "There was nothing innocent in this scandal. Finding any other meaning to this is an insult to the nation's intelligence," he added. Narendra Modi on November 8, 2016, announced a ban on then in use Rs 1000 and Rs 500 denomination bank notes with immediate effect. Former prime minister Manmohan Singh also described demonetisation as an "ill-fated" and "ill-thought" exercise and said that the havoc it unleashed on the economy and society is now evident. "Today is a day to remember how economic misadventures can roil the nation for a long time and understand that economic policy making should be handled with thought and care," Singh said in a statement. He urged the government to restore certainty and visibility in economic policies. "Notebandi (demonetisation) impacted every single person, regardless of age, gender, religion, occupation or creed," he said. Another Congress leader and former union minister Anand Sharma held Modi solely responsible for the note ban and called it a money laundering scheme that helped the BJP and its industrialist cronies. "It was an arbitrary and reckless decision that led to economic disaster and misery, deaths of large number of citizens, loss of millions of jobs and wiping out of small traders and businesses," said Sharma. "The PM will never oblige with answer either to the media or Parliament. He is less than literate in economics and less knowledgeable in history. So he makes his own history and his own economics. He thinks he is wiser then (John Maynard) Keynes when it comes to economics because no PM in the world would do what he has done," he said. Sharma also said that Modi's claims that the Indian economy was running on black money tarnished the country's image globally. (With inputs from agencies)