Opposition parties on Wednesday slammed the government over note ban terming the move as 'disaster' and 'anti-national' with former finance minister P Chidambaram using Reserve Bank data to lash out at the central bank saying 'Shame on RBI' as 99 per cent junked currency has returned.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying demonetisation not only dented institutional sanctity of the RBI but also India's credibility abroad.
Chidambaram questioned the Narendra Modi government whether its demonetisation decision was designed to convert black money into white.
Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Sitaram Yechury launched a stinging attack on the Centre over demonetisation, saying India can 'never forgive' the Modi government for the 'anti-national act', which allegedly hit the country's economy.
Samajwadi Party leader Naresh Agarwal said his party would move a privilege motion against RBI Governor Urjit Patel for misleading a parliamentary panel on the issue.
The RBI's annual report for 2016-17 on Wednesday revealed that all but 1.4 per cent of the scrapped Rs 1,000 notes have returned to the banking system.
'99 pc notes legally exchanged! Was demonetisation a scheme designed to convert black money into white?' Chidambaram said on Twitter.
He also said the economists behind the demonetisation move 'deserve Nobel prize' (sic) as the RBI gained Rs 16,000 crore, but lost Rs 21,000 crore in printing new notes.
'Rs 16,000 cr out of demonetised notes of Rs 15,44,000 cr did not come back to RBI. That is 1%. Shame on RBI which 'recommended' demonetisation.
'RBI 'gained' Rs 16,000 crore, but 'lost' Rs 21,000 crore in printing new notes! The economists deserve Nobel Prize,' he said in a series of tweets.
Congress' senior spokesperson Anand Sharma said none of the objectives of demonetisation has been met.
"It was an ill-thought decision which created financial anarchy in the country. Tens and millions of jobs were lost. Hardships were inflicted upon the poor people, farmers, workers and housewives of the country. Now the prime minister should explain where is that black money," he asked.
Yechury tweeted, '99.9 pc of the notes back in the banking system. 100s died in queues. The poor suffered the most. All this for what?. Lives and livelihoods lost, the economy got a shock, workers lost their jobs. India can never forgive Modi govt for this anti-national act.'
Surjewala said demonetisation is nothing but a 'disaster' in which 104 innocent people were killed while 'corrupt' made 'windfall gains'.
He also said that the demonetisation scam not only dented institutional sanctity of the RBI, but also credibility of India abroad and demanded an apology from the prime minister.
'Demonetisation disaster stands exposed before the nation. PM Modi must own responsibility and apologise,' he tweeted.
'Utterly failed Demonetisation is nothing but a disaster in which 104 innocent people were killed while 'Corrupt' made 'Windfall Gains'.
'Demonetisation Scam,not only dented institutional sanctity of RBI, but also credibility of India abroad. PM should apologise to the nation,' he said in a series of tweets.
The government had on November 8, banned old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in an attempt to weed out black money in the country.
The old notes were allowed to be deposited in banks, with unusual deposits coming under income tax scrutiny.
Surjewala also said, "Rewind: Modiji's obfuscation exposed once again. On Independence Day, PM claimed to have unearthed Rs 3 lakh crore black money post demonetisation."
The reality, he said, is that the RBI data released on Wednesday proves only Rs 16000 crore out of the 15.44 lakh crore money in circulation came back and of this, Rs 9,000 crore is still stuck.
'Perspective: This Rs 16000 crore is just 1 pc of the total notes demonetised,' he said.
In another tweet, he said, 'Dr Manmohan Singh predicted that Demonetisation will reduce GDP by 2 pc and it did. Only the Economy suffered due to this massive folly!'
Former Union Minister Kapil Sibal said, 'Demonetised black money successfully laundered! Someone in government should be given Bharat Ratna for this conversion.'
