What is now happening after Modiji made that
announcement on the demonetisation of 500 and 1000 rupee notes is a movement. It
is a kind of Swachh Bharat in the economic front. All of us are part of this movement
to clean the country of the unaccounted cash. In any movement, some amount of
labour and sacrifice would be there. Let people consider so while waiting at
the ATM or curbing their expenses for now. Everyone waiting at the ATM can hold
his head high that he has nothing hide but is standing there as an honest
citizen to exchange his hard earned money. Only the likes of Mamata, Kejriwal
and separatists
are the shocked lot. The fact that there is no ceasefire violation by Pakistan
at Kashmir border and no stone pelting in Kashmir since then is proof of what the
Government has been saying on counterfeit notes sent by Pakistan. There is of
course news on how hoarders are trying to hoodwink but it also appears the
Government is well prepared to handle them stage by stage.
44 lakh worth banned 500 & 1000 rupee notes
offered at Jalagandeshwarar temple in Vellore dist of Tamilnadu by an anonymous
donor.
Already the readers would have read a whole lot of
implications of this move through many sources of communication. I have nothing
new to add except making a blog on this topic to express my support for Modiji that
I am / we are with him in this drive to cleanse the economy.
In this context I am posting below an article that I
found good enough to drive home the point that the media, particularly the TV
channels are making an unnecessary fuss over the inconveniences that we as part
of this movement have to put up with. They have to be ignored or exposed but
never given importance. Also all such stuff appearing in print media should be
ignored and not circulated to create a negative opinion on this drive. Instead
the everyday news on how currency notes have been discarded or pushed into
banking system by luring poor people do so for a commission must be publicised
to create awareness on how these should be condemned. We have to do a thorough
job of cleaning the system of the dirty money in whatever way possible.
- Jayasree
********
From
Most Indians are happy with Modi's demonetisation
drive, don't trust TV news
By
ABHIJIT MAJUMDER
The Berlin Wall fell on November 9, 1989, in an
ocean of flashlights and confetti.
But behind the joy and hope of unification lurked
the pain of actually merging the two Germanys.
When the process began in 1990, East Germany had a
per capita GDP of around $11,800 while West Germany's was $27,000.
To bridge that chasm, chancellor Helmut Kohl
privatised some East Germany's state-owned enterprises, which wiped out four
million jobs over five years.
Over the next 25 years, the former West Germany
reportedly bled out two trillion euros to the East in transfer payments.
It took deep reserves of that famous German grit and
about painful 20 years for the country to not just recover, but emerge as the
world's fourth largest economy and a shaky Europe's chief economic engine.
Defining changes do not come without some pain. When
Manmohan Singh took up the computerisation of banks as RBI governor in 1982,
the powerful bank unions and lakhs of ban employees feared huge job losses.
Slowly over time, and not without pain, the sector
got computerised and revolutionised.
Exactly 27 years after the fall of the Berlin wall
came PM Narendra Modi's strike on fake currency and black money - unparalleled
in its scale and scope - from November 9.
It may make us stand for hours in queue or hold on
to the small notes till the chaos in banks and ATMs settle down, but given what
it has already achieved and promises to do, the nation must bear a couple of
weeks of inconvenience patiently.
And although TV cameras will only show the
queues and angry people, my sense is that a majority of honest Indians are
happy, a bit vicariously, that billions worth black money has been wiped out in
one swing of the wand.
Watchmen, cooks in little restaurants, carpenters,
maids, shopkeepers, sweepers… almost all the people I have spoken to in the
last three days have a calm, mature understanding of the effect this will have
on the corrupt.
But these voices don't make good television.
Countries like Zimbabwe, Singapore, Fiji and Philippines have demonetised for
different reasons.
India had a very compelling reason too. Enough for
Modi to take the massive political risk of angering the BJP's traditionally
core constituency - the Banias, or the trading class.
Also, his rivals have been quick to fuel and magnify
public annoyance over the teething problems.
The government could not have reconfigured
ATMs without the corrupt getting wind of the announcement and overnight getting
much of their illicit wealth converted to white.
But if the government does not invest all its
energies into replenishing and recalibrating ATMs, festering inconvenience can
undo some of the good work.
It will also give the caught-off-guard Opposition a
stronger foothold to launch attacks.
But, right now, the BJP looks very confident. Party
chief Amit Shah has dared rivals to take it up as an election issue in UP,
Punjab and other states going to polls in a few months.
In one stroke, the PM has killed several
thousand crores of illicit cash and fake currency, jolted rival parties'
election spending, made funding of terror and insurgency extremely difficult,
and pushed more Indians into the banking system and transparent financial
transactions.
While a limited number of Rs 2,000 notes have been
floated, there will always be great fear of hoarding cash now. Who guarantees
that those notes too won't be barred in the future?
Demonetisation is not a foolproof measure against
black money. But it attacks the problem with unprecedented force and at
multiple layers.
It will be even more effective if the government
follows this up with electoral reforms and a strike on dubious land and asset
holdings.
With better planning and intense, follow-up
awareness campaigns, the government can have people on its side even during the
initial hardship.
(Courtesy of Mail Today.)
