Demonetisation: A day left of Modi's promise & submitting defunct notes in banks

New Delhi: Friday is the last day of submitting old notes because, after the date, those having defunct notes will have to submit the same directly to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Interestingly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise of solving all problems, which surfaced after demonetisation, also has one day left. However, it does not appear that the condition will improve and all problems will be solved in just one day. Modi had asked for 50 days from the people to solve the issue. Maharashtra: NCP to hold state-wide protest against demonetisation on Jan 9 The Nationalist Congress Party has already announced that it would hold an agitation across Maharashtra against the effects of demonetisation on January 9. Addressing a press conference after the party's meeting (chaired by NCP president Sharad Pawar) to discus the strategy before upcoming civic elections in Maharashtra, state NCP chief Sunil Tatkare said 50 days sought by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi after announcing demonetisation were over, but the people were still suffering a lot. NCP had decided to stage a state-wide agitation on January 9 on the issue, he said. He appealed all like-minded parties to join in. Senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar said Modi, while announcing demonetisation on November 8, spoke about fight against black money and terrorist activities. But the narrative later changed and cashless transactions came into the picture. "NCP was the first party to extend support, however, due to the ill-preparedness of the government, farmers, laborers, common man in the country are suffering and facing hardship. Companies are laying off employees," said Pawar. In the last 49 days, Reserve Bank issued 58 circulars and it showed how confused the apex bank was, he said. "It seems RBI has lost the credibility due to the poor preparedness after demonetisation ," Pawar said. Talking about alliances for civic elections, Tatkare and Pawar said the party would go with other like-minded parties. "Since BJP and Shiv Sena are communal parties, there is no question of joining hands with them," said Pawar. 'Was demonetisation necessary for cashless transactions?' Ex-Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Wednesday said demonetisation was not needed merely to ensure cashless transactions as he raised questions over the effectiveness of the Centre's move. "Was there a need for demonetisation just to achieve cashless transactions? Did the black money come out," Chavan said. "Do not be under the misconception that corruption reduces after ushering in cashless transactions," he said in an interview to a Marathi channel. "In India, almost 98 per cent transactions take place using cash," he said. There were no preparations before taking such an important decision, he claimed. The objective with which this decision was taken has not succeeded, Chavan said, commenting on 50-day since Modi announced the decision on November 8. "Since November 8, the money that came into the banks got 'white'. Then where is the black money," Chavan said. Demonetisation has helped convert black money into 'white', he added.