Unfair to say Demonetisation was a Disaster

By Sagar Satapathy: When I saw people lining up in queues after Nov 8, 2016, it did not trouble me much. I thought it was a passing phase. But, situation did not improve. The pain and agony continued across the country. I was getting frustrated with the execution and frequent changes; so were many others. But, I would still like to say Demonetisation was a right step in right direction. A risky and bold initiative which only Narendra Modi would have taken! And, he did.

The biggest point – people say it was done for election. That means Demonetisation was a success for BJP in Uttar Pradesh and a failure in Punjab! You say it was done to kill the opposition parties. So, opposition was riding on invisible cash and black money? If this is the case, we should rather laud the move.

Some say #Demonetisation was done to ruin BSP & Samajwadi Party. That means we all admit that these parties are corrupt and had huge black money. Both parties ruled Uttar Pradesh for years and we all know where the State stood in terms of corruption, economic development, social development and law & order. So, there is no wrong if another party wanted to storm to power at their cost.

But, what about Punjab? Why Demonetisation did not work there to crush the political opponents? Why BJP failed to get majority in Goa?

Forget about politics, I agree Demonetisation did not bring the success we aimed for. But, won’t agree that it was a disaster. The government had claimed there would be an end to terrorism, naxalism and black money. Yes, it did not happen entirely. But, can we deny that there has been a reduction in terror activities, Maoist menace and black money hoarding? Kashmir remains by and large peaceful, as stone pelting incidents have come down drastically and there has been a complete check on the dubious funding of separatists in the valley. Critics won’t agree and they won’t believe the statistics too. So, it’s futile to try to convince them.

The execution of demonetisation was not flawless. It raised many questions and most of those remained unanswered. But, majority of common people are still with the government on this decision. They could be upset with GST, but not demonetisation. We hardly see any fake currency racket getting busted these days. Otherwise, it was a regular affair and Pak-sponsored rackets almost ruined the Indian economy. That’s the major takeaway from note ban.

We also entered the era of ‘Cashless Economy’, which may not go well with many. But, less cash will reduce corruption and illegal transactions that were used to evade tax. Was not black money or invisible cash part and parcel of all property deals?

There have been claims by the government that it has identified shell companies and dubious transactions and action will be taken against those people/firms soon. Let’s hope that they come true to their words and launch a massive onslaught on the corrupt. As people of India have given a big thumbs to demonetisation, it’s high time the government does everything possible to uphold their trust.