Demonetisation is a "thoughtless move", no one has good word for it: Chidambaram

Hitting out at the Centre's demonetisation move, senior Congress leader and former finance minister P. Chidambaram on Tuesday said the note ban is a "thoughtless move" and no one has a good word for it.

"This is an absurd move by the government. No one has any good word to say on this. Goal posts are shifting. It is no longer about black money now they have found a new one called cashless economy," he added.

"Yesterday a leading RSS spokesman said that Rs. 2,000 notes should also be withdrawn...won't be surprised if they do that. Which country has cashless economy? Does U.S.? Does Singapore have it? Where is electricity in country? Where are the machines? It has broken the back of poor people, a case of khoda pahad nikli chuhiya," Chidambaram said.

He further stated that if the government had to withdraw higher denomination note it could have done so in the course of one year.

"I went for a wedding the other day, saw that the rich are not affected. It is the poor who are hurt. Has this stopped corruption, black money? The objective is not being served by this. Only poor people are being punished," he added.

The senior Congress leader also said that the long term impacts will be negative in terms of GDP figures, adding that even RBI's low projection shows it.

"Most economists say 1-2 percent negative impact. I believe people will not forget for what is being done to them and will certain not forgive the govt for it. Just because people are not protesting in the manner you are suggesting that does not mean that they are condoning what government is doing," he added.