PM Modi terms demonetisation as decisive battle against black money

He said, 'I know this hit the corrupt hard and now they have ganged against me, but I have decided to wage this battle for the sake of poor'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday asserted demonetisation was a major step towards a decisive battle against the scourge of black money, which was ruining the lives of the poor and the middle class in the country.

Addressing a rally in Agra district, Modi reiterated the decision of demonetisation would prove to be beneficial to the ordinary citizens of India in the long run, although he maintained the process would cause some hardships to the people.

He narrated instances wherein the poor and middle-class sections were being subjected to harassment while seeking better educational opportunities or trying to buy a house, in which they were required to cough up a portion of the requirement payment in the form of cash.

He noted black money was generated through illegal trades in counterfeit currency and drugs, which in turn got channelised to finance terror activities to kill Indian soldiers at the border and bring economic impediments to the common people.

"I know demonetisation has hit the corrupt hard and now they have ganged against me, but I have decided to wage this battle for the sake of the poor, tribal, middle class and farmers," he said.

Modi underlined while announcing demonetisation of currency notes of 500 and 1,000 denomination, he had said it would cause some strain in days to come and sought a total of 50 days for the transition.

"I had said I would review the emerging situation every 2-3 days and take remedial measures to minimise the sufferings of the people coming in wake of the demonetisation decision," he said.

The PM informed Rs 5,00,000 crore had been deposited with banks after demonetisation was announced on November 8 and more money was projected to be deposited.

"The banks would not keep this money locked up. It would be used to provide cheaper loans to people for starting small businesses," he claimed. 

Meanwhile, Modi cautioned people against allowing their bank accounts to be used by unscrupulous elements around them for converting their black money into white, saying while these cunning people would claim innocence and go scot free, the gullible account holder would land in trouble.

Earlier, the PM expressed grief over the train accident in Kanpur early today, which killed several people and injured scores of others.

READ OUR FULL COVERAGE ON THE MODI GOVT'S DEMONETISATION MOVE