Respondents were rather more sceptical that withdrawal of high-value currencies will rid India of corruption. Clearly the optimism we see in this survey about Modi’s drive against black money does not transcend to his effort against corruption. Overall, 46 per cent of the respondents said demonetisation will make India a less corrupt society while 35 per cent were certain that it will not achieve that purpose.
Left-ruled Kerala was the most skeptical on this count with 43 per cent of the respondents in that State saying Modi’s surgical strike against the `500 and `1,000 notes won’t lead to less corruption. Telangana (46%) and Odisha (50%) tended to be more positive about this aspect of demonetisation.
The unorganised sector was evenly divided on this question with 41 per cent saying this drive against corruption will work and 42.5 per cent saying it won’t. A similar picture was evident from small traders. Students (48%) were as optimistic as the salaried class (49%) on this count.
Clearly, the survey respondents were making a clear distinction: this is a drive against black money but corruption will find a way around it all.