Demonetisation will empower society, bring transparency in economy: Prasad

Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday said the demonetisation of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 currency notes is an initiative to make India's economy transparent and will transform it into an empowered society.

"The initiative taken by the government to keep Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes out of circulation is indeed a historic initiative to make India's economy transparent. I am sure India will welcome it and India would become a better empowered and honest society," Prasad said.

Prasad also reiterated Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu's remark saying that the move is just like 'mothers giving birth' which gives temporary pain but bring lots of gain.

"It is not a problem for the ones who are honest and more than 95 percent of Indians are honest and those who are not honest have to think about it and suffer," he said.

Earlier today, Launching a blistering attack on the Centre West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asked the Centre to rollback the decision in three days or face intensified protest.

Saying demonetisation will push the country backwards by 100 years, Mamata said the crisis of this proportion was not seen even during the Emergency of 1975.

The Trinamool Congress chief yesterday led a rainbow delegation of Opposition party leaders to Rashtrapati Bhavan in protest against the demonetisation move.

She submitted a memorandum to President Pranab Mukherjee and sought his intervention on the issue.

Both the Houses of the Parliament were adjourned till tomorrow following uproar over the issue of demonetisation.

Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha had a rocky start to the Winter Session as the government and the opposition again locked horns over a move to scrap Rs. 500 and 1,000 currency notes that has triggered chaos and confusion across the nation.