Decision to Demonetise Was Not Taken in Haste: Rajnath Singh

Lucknow: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said the decision to demonetise high denomination currency notes was a well-planned move and not taken in haste as he maintained it would go a long way in checking corruption in politics.

“Recently a decision to demonetise currency notes in the denomination of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 has been taken...it surprised people not only in the country but the world over...this will bridge the gulf between the poor and rich,” he said at the 69th annual meeting of Indian Commerce Association here.

“People say the government has acted in haste and more time should have been given...I want to say that there had been no haste...it was a well-planned move...it has been taken after enough consideration about the future,” he said.

He claimed that any economist would welcome the move. “If you ask any economist, he will welcome this move. The economists of the country and world have hailed this brave move...it will go a long way in checking corruption not only in politics but also in government and administration,” Singh said, adding that it would make politics clean to a large extent.

He said that soon after coming to power, the BJP government had started working against black money. Singh said the government formed an SIT and initiated effective steps for checking benami properties and transactions carried out through wrong means.

The Home Minister said a parallel economy was being run with the money earned through “wrong means” and the poor and the honest were forced to bear its brunt.

“Those having black money must have gone bankrupt because of the government move...this was a necessary move and also in national interest. This will help end disparity in income and economy,” he said.

He said though no claims could be made on how far this step would help end disparity but it would definitely lessen it.

“During elections money is used in a big way...money is given for getting votes...our government is also concerned about how to check corruption in politics...politics should not be done only for forming government but also for building society,” he stressed.