Demonetisation Has Led To Tax Terrorism, Yashwant Sinha
Dissident BJP leader and former Union finance minister Yashwant Sinha today said demonetisation had led to "tax terrorism" and likened Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a medieval era Delhi king known for his whimsical decisions.
Sinha made these remarks at the launch of a book, Demonetization and the Black Economy, by economist Arun Kumar, who has been critical of the exercise. Suspended BJD MP Baijayant 'Jay' Panda and Congress leader Prithiviraj Chavan were also participating in the panel discussion.
Though demonetisation failed to meet any of the stated objectives, the government had won the "perception battle", Sinha said.
The former finance minister derisively said that "not policy-makers but only one policy-maker" decides what has to be done.
With the passage of time, they can come to only one conclusion that demonetisation has "failed and failed comprehensively", he said.
"There was another case in the 16th century in Delhi about a ruler who was famous for shifting the capital from Delhi to Daulatabad. But we forget that he also had demonetised the currency in his time. We have gone back five centuries to repeat the mistake which that gentleman, that king had made," he said.
Asked by the moderator if he was comparing Modi to Muhammad bin Tughluq, Sinha said he was not taking any names.
Sinha said "tax terrorism", which the BJP was critical of when it was in the opposition, has returned because of the note ban, and claimed the income tax department registered 1.8 million cases following the decision and was ill-equipped to probe them all anytime soon.
"What has been the other side-effect? Tax-terrorism, which the BJP had criticised when we were in opposition. It has come back now. 1.8 million cases have been started by the income tax department (since demonetisation)" he said.
Is the department equipped to handle so many cases and how much time it is going to take to bring those cases to a final conclusion, he asked, claiming people will never know how much black money was actually recovered until investigation in all those cases are complete.
"This will go on and on like the counting of the notes by the Reserve Bank of India. It will never finish, not at least until the next Lok Sabha election so that the perception of this (demonetisation) having succeeded continues to hold," he said.
Asked how would he have tackled the flow of black money, Sinha quipped, "Demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) are subjects to write books upon how things should not be done."
Published by Penguin India, 'Demonetization and the Black Economy' claims to explain the story of the note ban and its effects on the economy.
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2 men dragged for 300 metres by truck in Agra; locals save their lives
Agra, Dec 23: A truck driver dragged two people for about 300 metres in Agra under his vehicle, police on Monday said.
Some locals forced the driver to stop the truck and extricated the men from under the vehicle.
Police arrested the driver and seized the truck.
The two men, both residents of Nunhai in Agra, were going towards Rambagh from Waterworks when they met with an accident around 11 pm Sunday.
The driver, instead of stopping the truck sped up, trapping both of them underneath, police said.
"In the accident, two youths were dragged by a canter driver for about 300 metres. Later, some residents saved the youths by stopping the driver using force," Chhatta Police Station Inspector Pramod Kumar told PTI.
"The youths were sent for treatment at a nearby hospital and are still being treated, but are in stable condition. The youths were from Agra. The canter driver was arrested and the canter seized after the incident," he said.
A video of the incident that surfaced on social media showed the men shouting for help.
The video was purported to have been shot by a person passing by on a two-wheeler.
“पिछली पोस्ट में वीडियो में युवकों को मोटर साइकल सहित ट्रक वाला कई मीटर तक घसीटता हुआ ले जाता गया देखा था,
— Umashankar Singh उमाशंकर सिंह (@umashankarsingh) December 23, 2024
अब जनता द्वारा उस ट्रक ड्राइवर की ठुकाई पिटाई का समारोह देखिए।”#Agra@madanjournalist
pic.twitter.com/Qh5ncyWtEa
HORRIFYING!
— Sanjay Kishore (@saintkishore) December 23, 2024
In Agra, a truck driver dragged two men for 300 meters. Locals intervened, stopping the truck and saving the men. Both are stable but continue receiving treatment. The driver has been arrested and the truck seized.
pic.twitter.com/1ply5wemfX
