Demonetisation welcomed, opposition's negation a 'big flop': Naidu

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Friday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetisation move and took a jibe at the Congress by terming its way of opposing it as a 'big flop.'

"Whatever the opposition did, has turned out to be a big flop. They first announced 'Bharat Bandh', which was not supported even by one person. Then, they held an 'Aakroshan rally' which was again a big flop," Naidu told ANI.

Naidu also targeted former prime minister Manmohan Singh for his failure to stop corruption during his decade-long regime and accused the Congress of generating black money in the past.

"Manmohan Singh was the economic advisor, finance secretary, finance minister and prime minister, still he did not do anything to curb black money. Congress is responsible for all the black money that was generated in the past," he said.

He also said Congress and corruption always go together and that it should introspect how it decreased its strength from 440 to 40.

Naidu showed faith in the move to demonetise high-denomination notes of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 and counted on it as a measure to switch to cashless economy.

"To ensure that the problem of corruption does not recur, we have come up with the concept of digital transfer and digital transactions. This is also done in order to reduce the cash transaction which amounts to 86 percent presently," he said.

The Prime Minister will be addressing the nation on New Year's Eve regarding demonetisation, which has completed its 50 days today.