Payday at Parliament House

Thursday being payday, members of Parliament (MP) queued up at the State Bank of India branch on Parliament premises to withdraw money. The branch, seemingly, had a good supply of Rs 100 as well as the new Rs 500 currency notes even as bank branches outside Parliament struggled with supply of money. Several MPs confessed they were withdrawing money mostly for friends and relatives, including journalists. Scribes were seen asking MPs to exchange their Rs 2,000 currency notes, withdrawn from ATMs in and around Parliament House, for smaller denomination notes from the State Bank of India branch.