Nothing wrong in us calling PM over demonetisation: PAC Chairman

Interview with K V Thomas

Amid political battlelines being drawn between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress over demonetisation, Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman K V THOMAS tells Amit Agnihotri the parliamentary panel may call Prime Minister Narendra Modi to seek his views. Edited excerpts:

Can the PAC call the Prime Minister over demonetisation? Comments.

There is nothing wrong in the PAC calling the Prime Minister. The panel has called the Reserve Bank of India governor and finance ministry officials on January 20 to give a brief on the impact of demonetisation. If the panel unanimously decides on calling the Prime Minister and the Lok Sabha Speaker grants permission, it can be done.

But, is there a precedent?
During the PAC hearings on the allocation of 2G spectrum issue, the BJP member Murli Manohar Joshi had said that the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh be called. Singh was ready to attend the PAC meeting but that did not take place. Earlier in 1966, the PAC had called then Heavy Industries Minister C Subramaniam. In 1992, hearing the Harshad Mehta securities scam, the panel had called then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister Shankarrao Chavan.   

How would the Prime Minister’s coming help?
See, not only is the Prime Minister the first among equals, Narendra Modi himself made the demonetisation announcement on November 8, 2016. He later sought a 50-day deadline for normalcy to return. He is the best person to explain the impact of demonetisation.

Are you planning to call former Union ministers as well?
Well, we may call former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, too, in their capacity as financial experts to hear what they think about demonetisation.

Has the BJP member Nishikant Dubey urged you to withdraw your comment on the Prime Minister?
No, I have not received any such communication from him.

But the BJP members in the PAC are miffed and may raise the issue when the panel meets on January 13. 
The panel has been working collectively and has produced 75 reports so far. I get cooperation from all the members across party lines.

You are a former Union food minister. What is your assessment of demonetisation? Is a cashless economy the way forward?
I would like to express my views on the subject as a private citizen. I think a cashless economy is not feasible in a county where a large number of the people are below the poverty line. We are an agrarian economy that runs on cash. I am not sure about the safety and security of digital payment systems and/or the technology that supports the same. For instance, call drop among mobile users is still a big dilemma. Furthermore, do we have enough automated teller machines to support the government’s cashless agenda? These are my concerns as a conscientious citizen. I would like some answers from the government.

You are also a lawmaker in the Lower House of Parliament as member of the Congress party, which has vehemently opposed demonetisation. Do you share the views?
Again, I would like to express myself only as a private citizen on this. I think the Prime Minister took the demonetisation decision without consulting the financial experts. Maybe this was done to fulfil his political ambition. The immediate objective in my personal view seems to be to win the Assembly polls in the five states, namely Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur. But the move instead has plunged the entire country into a financial quagmire; people have lost their jobs (some even their lives) and most are generally out of pocket.