New Delhi: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is considered one of the best finance ministers in the country, was the first leader from the Opposition to make his point on the note ban debate in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
In a direct address to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of note ban, Singh said a “monumental mismanagement has been undertaken in implementation of Demonetisation.”
Singh said that it was his personal opinion that demonetisation would ‘hurt’ many in the country and will cause a decline in the GDP of the country by at least 2 per cent if not more.
Watch Manmohan Singh's full speech in Rajya Sabha on demonetisation
The former PM stated that while he does not disagree with the objectives of demonetisation, its implementation has been a huge failure.
“It is important to take note of the grievances of the people suffering. I hope that PM will help us find practical ways to give relief to people suffering,” Singh told Modi.
“Those who say demonetisation is good in the long run should recall quote ‘In the long run we are all dead’,” Singh said, referring to Modi’s appeal to the people that they bear pain for 50 days to reap benefits of the decision.
“Prime Minister said wait for 50 days but for the poor section even 50 days can be detrimental,” he added.
Singh said the PM would have to come up with a constructive proposal to implement the scheme undertaken by his government.
