Veteran Congress leader and former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Sunday said he was happy that the BJP government at the Centre has withdrawn the ₹2000 denomination currency notes from circulation at least now.
Speaking to reporters in Karaikudi, he said the Congress had vehemently opposed the introduction of the ₹2000 currency notes then. Not listening to the observations of the Opposition, the BJP government went ahead with it stating that it was a move to curb the black money, he said.
The former FM further added that the government claimed that black money was in the denominations of ₹500 and ₹1000 and that they withdrew the denominations from circulation in 2016. Hence, they introduced ₹2000 currency notes. This was not only a mistake, but also a hasty move.
After a very short period, the Union government re-introduced new ₹500 currency realising that the people rejected or did not use ₹2000 currency notes in the markets. “I am sure and will not be surprised if the Centre re-introduced new Rs 1000 currency notes,” the former FM said and lamented that the government’s decisions had only confused the common man.
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The Congress had insisted that it was a mistake to have withdrawn ₹500 from circulation then, Mr. Chidambaram said and added that instead of accepting that it was a hasty decision by the BJP to have introduced the ₹2000, they have now took it off from circulation. This is nothing but “Tuglak darbar”, he said.
Rajiv Gandhi remembered
Earlier, Mr. Chidambaram garlanded a statue of late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in Karaikudi marking the death anniversary and also inaugurated a blood donation camp organised by the Congress unit. A large number of public and Congress cadre donated blood and garlanded the portrait of Mr. Gandhi in the town.
