New Delhi, Dec 13: A day after RSS ideologue S Gurumurthy revealed that the Rs 2,000 denomination note will be demonetised in a few years, Congress attacked the Narendra Modi government and sought to know who was running the current dispensation at the Centre.
Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad asked who was running the government – PM Modi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, RBI or Gurumurthy. The question arises because the demonetisation initiative was announced by Modi whereas it is the prerogative of either the RBI or the Finance Minister to do so, the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha said.
Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram said, “Yesterday a leading RSS spokesman said that Rs 2,000 notes should also be withdrawn. I won’t be surprised if they do that.”
However, the Modi government rejected the Congress charge. Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said Gurumurthy just gave a suggestion. “He (Gurumurthy) is a well meaning person and a nationalist. He has just given a suggestion (that Rs 2,000 note could be phased out),” he said.
In an exclusive interview to India Today, Gurumurthy, who is also a chartered accountant, supported the notion of lower-denomination banknotes for the country. A key member of the Sangh-backed Vivekananda Foundation, he has been advising seniors in the government over ways to deal with demonetisation.
Gurumurthy described the new 2,000 bills as a “bridge” to meet the gap in cash while it is being taken out of circulation. But the new biggest notes, he said, would also be “phased out” gradually.
(With agency inputs)
