MUMBAI: Senior leader of Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh (BBM) Prakash Ambedkar today the Modi Government's demonetisation drive has failed to serve its stated purpose and put the credibility of RBI at stake. Addressing a press conference here, he said, "Figures shared by the Reserve Bank of India reveal that most of the cash in circulation has returned to banks. "If it is true, then what purpose the decision of demonetisation (whose one of the aims was to extinguish black money) has served? The entire episode has put the credibility of RBI at stake."
Speaking at the same press meet, Dalit leader Jogendra Kawade said, "We also want to know the cost incurred on implementing demonetisation. Printing of new currency notes comes at a cost and it should be made public." He said the November 8 currency exchange exercise caused hardship to the common man. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi had claimed the decision (note ban) was targeted at black money hoarders. But the reality is the common man is suffering from it," Kawade said. Ambedkar said the note invalidation measure will push the economy towards recession and also hit the agriculture sector hard. "This is not just a short term shock to the economy.
We are moving towards economic recession. With agriculture suffering losses, purchasing power of people has gone down and demand for several consumer items has either slowed down or disappeared completely." "Even after more than two months of the note ban announcement, there is still not sufficient cash supply in the economy. This will have serious repercussions," said the grandson of Constitution-maker Babasaheb Ambedkar.