PM should bring White Paper on what India achieved with note ban: Congress

The Congress on Friday demanded a White Paper on what was achieved by "imposing" demonetisation that, the party claimed, adversely effected the country's economy.

Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot said the prime minister has not answered to queries raised by the party and former prime minister Manmohan Singh on demonetisation and the government should come out with a White Paper.

He was talking to reporters after joining the Youth Congress workers in a protest outside the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) office in the national capital.

Senior Congress leaders, including Gehlot, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Anand Sharma and Mukul Wasnik, were later detained by Delhi Police and taken to the Parliament Street police station, for staging the protest.

"Our demand is that the prime minister should issue a White Paper that whatever you did, was wrong, or right. I have never heard this language before that the finance minister is saying that if the RBI governor wants to go, then he can go but we will continue our demand," he told reporters.

Alleging that the Narendra Modi dispensation is subverting "institutions that are the pillars on which the country is standing", he asked, "Has Prime Minister Modi taken a contract to ruin all these institutions?"

Sharma said Modi took an "arbitrary and reckless" decision on demonetisation, which, actually slashed away 86 per cent of India's currency in circulation and he had given reasons that it was black money which has tarnished the image of India abroad.

"This was people's money; hard earned money of our farmers, of our employees, of our factory workers and the small businesses. Now, all that money has come back as per the RBI. What has the prime minister got to say?

"It is the Indian economy which suffered. People lost their jobs, not in lakhs but in crores, many businesses shut down and many not have opened back since. So, the Indian economy has still not recovered from the loss he caused. Prime Minister remains in arrogant denial. Instead of apologizing, he has let loose, this repression on the opposition," Sharma said.

Gehlot said Modi imposed the decision of demonetisation on the country, even when the Reserve Bank Board did not agree with him and said that it would not help achieve the desired results of eradicating black money and fake notes.