Demonetisation can never make India cashless: Congress

The Congress Party on Monday said that demonetisation can never make a country like India cashless, given the disparity that exists between the rich and poor.

Congress leader Anand Sharma told ANI, "It is very important for the Prime Minster to know that even in the United States people use dollars, even in the whole of Europe, people use the Euro. There is no country in the world which doesn't have their own currency.... Only four percent of the people in this country have credit cards....he has made the people cashless, but cannot make the country cashless. He stays in his own world. He has made people beg for their own money."

Maintaining that the Congress is a responsible opposition, Sharma further said, "If the RSS and BJP were in the opposition, they would have triggered violence and riots. Our philosophy is different, we are committed to Gandhi and his values. We are not committed to the militant communalism of the BJP and the RSS."

In a bid to make India a cashless economy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier directed his senior ministers to enlighten the people about merits of using e-wallets and other digital payment methods.

The renewed push to make India less reliant on hard currencies came a day after the Prime Minister exhorted the people to use debit cards and other digital payments while purchasing essential items.

According to government sources, the Prime Minister asked his ministers to start the promotion of cashless economy with their own staffs followed by their Ministry and then constituency to appeal to larger masses.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also spoke to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar amongst the others to form a sub-committee to give impetus to a cashless economy.

In the 26th edition of Mann KI Baat programme, Prime Minister Modi said, "I know cashless economy is different. Why not move towards a cashless society? Need your physical support in this. I took this decision for the country's poor, farmer, labour, deprived and for those who are suffering. I reiterate that I need your support; I am positive that you will help me in this; take a pledge that you will be a part of this cashless economy."

The Prime Minister also stated that there has been 300 percent increase in the use of Rupay card since the poor people started using it.