Shell-shocked after demonetisation

The govt's moves to bust the alleged note-ban killers are creating a new set of controversies

As critics of demonetisation get shriller after the annual report of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) revealed that 99 per cent of the banned notes were returned, the government has moved strongly to attack the vehicles that were suspected of playing a role in the failure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s signature black money-fighting programme: Shell companies.  

Though the exercise began three months ago, the attack intensified on Tuesday with the government moving to freeze the bank accounts of over 200,000 companies, which have been struck off by the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). It also moved to