Is 'second demonetisation' cover-up of wrong decision made earlier, asks Kharge
New Delhi (PTI): Opposition leaders on Saturday hit out at the government after the RBI announced the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 currency notes from circulation, with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge asking if the "second demonetisation" is an effort to cover up the wrong decision made earlier.
He also called for an impartial probe into the entire demonetisation episode.
In a surprise move, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday announced the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 currency notes from circulation but gave the public time till September 30 to either deposit such notes in accounts or exchange them at banks.
It said it had asked banks to stop issuing Rs 2,000 notes with immediate effect.
In a tweet in Hindi, Kharge said, "You inflicted a deep wound on the economy with the first demonetisation. Due to this, the entire unorganised sector was destroyed, MSMEs were closed down and crores of jobs were lost."
"Now, the 'second demonetisation' of ?2000 note... Is this a cover-up of a wrong decision? Only an unbiased investigation will reveal the truth of the matter," the Congress chief said.
Independent Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal also attacked the Centre over the decision and recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks at the time of the 2016 demonetisation that the magnitude of cash in circulation is directly linked to the level of corruption.
He said, "?2000 notes scrapped. PM to Nation: November 8, 2016, 'The magnitude of cash in circulation is directly linked to the level of corruption'. Cash in circulation: 2016 (17.7 lakh crores); 2022 (30.18 lakh crores). So: Corruption increased! What say you PM ji?"
Sibal was a Union minister during UPA 1 and 2 and had quit the Congress in May last year. He was elected to Rajya Sabha as an Independent member with the Samajwadi Party's support.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra said, "No civilised nation puts its people under constant fear of cash turning to toilet paper. Why should we stress about our wallets vaporising every few years?"
"BJP & Modiji's distractions cut no ice. You lost Karnataka. You will lose more states. Also you cannot save Adani," she said.
Reacting to the development, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi posed five questions to Modi.
"Five questions to Top Economist PM Modi:@PMOIndia. 1. Why did you introduce the 2000 note in the first place? 2. Can we expect 500 note to be withdrawn soon? 3. 70 crore Indians don't have a smart phone, how do they do digital payment?
"4. What is the role of Bill Gates owned Better Than Cash Alliance in making you do Demo 1.0 and 2.0? 5. Is NPCI being hacked by Chinese hackers? If so, what will happen to payements when war happens," he asked.
A host of Congress leaders also slammed the PM over the move.
In a tweet, Congress general secretary organisation K C Venugopal said, "I recollect the prescient words of our former PM Dr. Manmohan Singh, who called demonetisation an act of 'organised loot and legalised plunder' and its implementation was a 'monumental management failure'."
The scrapping of the Rs 2000 note is yet another proof that the Modi government put in zero thought before taking the fateful decision of November 8, 2016 that caused widespread suffering among the poor and middle classes, he said.
"This withdrawal shows they have no foresight and only take shock-and-awe decisions for their political posturing," he said.
Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera took a swipe at Modi, saying the one who could not use the note printed by himself even for seven years asks what the country did in 70 years.
Congress MP Manish Tewari said the RBI's logic behind the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 rupee notes was contrary to the answer given by the Finance Ministry to his Parliament Question on November 18, 2019.
He said, "31st March 2017. Total Currency in Circulation 13.10 Lakh Crores, 500/2000 Rupee notes 9.5 Lakh Crores. 31st March 2018 :Total Currency in Circulation 18 Lakh Crores. 500/2000 Rupee notes 14.46 Lakh Crores-80% of Total Currency in Circulation. 31st March 2019 - Currency in Circulation 21.1 Lakh Crores. 500/2000 Re Notes 17.34 Lakh Crores. 82.2 % of Total currency in Circulation."
Tewari said the question is will Rs 2,000 notes continue to be legal tender after September 30 or not.
The RBI needs to clarify that, he added.
The Rs 2,000 denomination banknote was introduced in November 2016, primarily to meet the currency requirement of the economy in an expeditious manner after the withdrawal of legal tender status of all Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 banknotes in circulation at that time.
The RBI said it has also been observed that Rs 2,000 denomination note is not commonly used for transactions. Further, the stock of banknotes in other denominations continues to be adequate to meet the currency requirement of the public.
"In view of the above, and in pursuance of the 'Clean Note Policy' of the Reserve Bank of India, it has been decided to withdraw the Rs 2,000 denomination bank notes from circulation," it said.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
