Abolish Rs 500, 1,000 notes to curb black money: Chandrababu Naidu

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday reiterated his demand for immediately abolishing currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations to check black money in the country.

Addressing a news conference in his new office at Velagapudi here, he also voiced concern that politics has become a "shelter" for corrupt.

Naidu, who had been demanding a ban on big currency notes, said he would be writing a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday itself in this regard.

He said abolishing the big currency notes was necessary to check those who are buying votes and misusing the people's mandate.

"Politics has become shelter for corrupt people and black money earners," said Naidu, also the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief.

Terming black money as the root cause for all the evils, Naidu said this could be curbed by abolishing cash and currency transactions and making all transactions through banks compulsory.

The chief minister said when all payments can be made through a smart phone, there was no need for cash transactions.

"In course of time we have to go for total bank transactions. We have to regulate and create culture. Then only we can control all evils and then only everybody will earn money through genuine way," he said.

Stating that some people were becoming rich overnight, he said when questioned, they were launching a "counter attack".

Naidu said such people get votes by distributing Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes among voters. "This is leading to competition among MLAs, who also want to make money to win elections. This is a vicious circle and the only way to break it is to go for total bank transactions," he added.

--IANS

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