Bengaluru: Backing former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's demonetisation comments in Parliament, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury today called Prime Minister Narendra Modi as "Narendra Moun Modi" for remaining silent in Parliament over the issue.
"Mr Narendra Modi used to call Manmohan Singh "Moun Mohan Singh" - that he doesn't open his mouth. In this Parliament session, the tables have reversed. Manmohan Singh spoke rather eloquently and it was Modi who was sitting silent and did not come back to Parliament after the break," he told reporters.
The statement comes in the wake of Singh's comments on demonetisation when he said the step would lead to a dip in GDP growth by at least two per cent and that it was "a case of organised loot and legalised plunder" and reflected a "monumental management failure".
Yechury said demonetisation would have a deep impact on the Indian economy on a medium term basis as it would take at least six months for things to settle down.
"It will take 175 days - it means six months - to actually bring back the economy to a level which was there prior to the November 8 announcement. It will have a very deep impact on the Indian economy for medium term," he said.
Yechury said that even after this period, there would be circulation of counterfeit currency, black money and continuation of corruption.
"Black money is not always a stock. Only five to six per cent is as stock. Much of the black money is a flow. It is in real estate and jewellery," he added.
Yechury said the success of demonetisation in India 'is a far cry' as the country has 1.3 billion people with inadequate internet connectivity, unlike Sweden, the world's only cashless economy. That country could achieve it as they have a small population and have 100 per cent internet connectivity. "By the time the transition takes place it will be many many years," he said.
Yechury opined it would not be possible to weed out black money unless there was a check on corporate funding to political parties. However, it could be a reality if there were state funded elections.
"If you want to stop corruption, block the supply side of corruption. Why are you not stopping corporate funding to political parties? Let there be a system of state funding of elections. Unless you do this, how can you check this sort of black money?" he asked.
Yechury demanded that government extend the deadline for exchange of old notes and allow their legal transaction to help people tide over the problems they are currently facing.
Asked about the 'silence' of the RBI Governor over the issue, Yechury said that neither RBI nor the Finance Ministry and the Prime Minister's Office were in the loop. "The discomfort of the Finance Minister in Parliament is in itself a telling blow that betrays the fact that he was not in a loop at all," he said.
"The RBI, the Finance Ministry and PMO - these are the three agencies which obviously should be in the loop. But what it appears is that not many people were taken into confidence before taking this step of demonetisation," he said.
Asked about the conglomerate of banks led by HSBC saying demonetisation would not affect the economy, he said people have the right to give an absurd logic in a democracy, but the truth would be known by interacting with people who are facing hardships due to the currency crunch.
Yechury also alleged that the entire growth index has been changed to give higher projection of GDP figures. "The growth figures also, all of us have said it and all of us know that the entire index have been changed in order to give higher projection of GDP figures. So I think it has already hit the Indian economy in a big way," he said.
To a query, he said since it was the Prime Minister who announced demonetisation, he should be the one to reply in Parliament, instead of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
"We are not asking the Rajya Sabha Chairman to call the Prime Minister. It is not the Finance Minister who made the announcement, but the Prime Minister. So he is answerable. It is as simple as that," he said.
On differences between the opposition parties on the rollback of demonetisation, Yechury said his party was not against demonetisation, but concerned about people's problems. "I am for nullification of even three per cent stock of the black money, but my concern is people's problems. Please tackle that," he said.
