BJP has announced to mark the first anniversary of demonetization on November 8 as Anti-black Money Day. This announcement from the government has come after the opposition’s decision to observe the day as “black day”.
The opposition has recently disclosed its plan to organize rallies whereby 18 political parties including Congress, Mamata Bannerjee’s Trinamool, and the Left will take part. In these protest acts, the parties will highlight the economic slowdown faced by the country post demonetization.
On one hand, the opposition is expressing its disagreement over the note-ban policy, while on the other hand; BJP is taking a stern stand on the demonetization. The BJP government has claimed both demonetization and GST to be the major forces to fight corruption. Despite the constant criticism and remarks made by the opposition, the Narendra-Modi government has been firmly supporting its move, thereby observing the day as Anti-Black Money Day.
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Explaining the policy, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said:
“I think the Congress has not understood the concept of demonetisation. The ownership of cash is not known, it is an anonymous owner. So when cash gets deposited in banks, what was being laundered earlier now gets into the law books. So for entry into the lawful system, you are liable to pay tax.”
The government had introduced demonetization on 8 November 2016 when all currency notes of 500 and 1000 denominations were banned overnight. After that, new notes with the denomination of 2000, 500, 200, and 50 were introduced. This note-ban has been the most controversial and unusual moves made by any government ever.
Although people had a tough time dealing with the currency issue, the policy has eventually led to a digitalized economy. Today, cashless transactions have become the new trend and the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley believes that having less cash economy is beneficial for the country.
