It’s an ethical move, asserts Jaitley

New Delhi: Terming demonetisation as a “watershed moment” in the country’s history, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday defended the Centre’s decision to scrap high denomination notes saying the “status quo” of the economy had to be shaken up. He also stressed that less cash in the economy doesn’t mean less corruption, but it definitely makes it harder for people to evade tax.

Referring to Manmohan Singh’s comment on demonetisation, Jaitley said: “Organised loot is what happened in 2G, CWG, coal block allocations.” “All that Singh has to do is to compare the global credibility of Indian economy pre-2014 and post 2014,” he said. UPA regime was riddled with policy paralysis, he said, while NDA government is built on structural reforms.

Describing demonetisation as an economic exercise with “ethical and moral rationale”, Jaitley added that the Congress’ only motive is to serve one family while the BJP serves the people.

On the impact of demonesation, Jaitley claimed terror funding has been squeezed and shell companies are also being easily identified. On the impact of demonesation, Jaitley claimed terror funding has been squeezed and shell companies are also being easily identified. He also said 18 lakh deposits are being scrutinised by the tax authorities.

Earlier in the day, Jaitley, in a blog post, wrote that that India has moved to a much cleaner, transparent and honest financial system after the note ban. “One of the important objective of demonetisation was to make India a less cash economy and thereby reduce the flow of black money in the system. The reduction in currency in circulation from the base scenario reflects that this intended objective has been met,” he wrote.

“The next generation will view post November, 2016 national economic development with a great sense of pride as it has provided them a fair and honest system to live in,” he wrote.