Tughlaq also implemented note ban, says Yashwant Sinha

Ahmedabad: Former finance minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Yashwant Sinha taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over demonetisation, said even the 14th century Delhi sultan, Muhammad bin Tughlaq, had implemented note ban 700 years ago.

Criticising Mr Modi for the controversial move, Mr Sinha at a function here claimed that demonetisation had hit the economy to the tune of Rs 3.75 lakh crore.

“There were many ‘shahenshas’ (king) who brought their own currency. Some even kept previous currency in circulation while introducing the new one. But, there was a shahenshah 700 years back — Muhammad Bin Tughlaq — who introduced his own (currency) while discontinuing the old currency,” he said.

“Thus, we can say that demonetisation was done 700 years back. Though Tughlaq is infamous for shifting his capital from Delhi to Daulatabad, he has also done demonetisation,” Mr Sinha said.

Tughlaq, who ruled the Delhi Sultanate for a short period of time in the 14th century, was known for his controversial decisions like shifting the capital of the Sultanate from Delhi to Daulatabad and introducing non-precious metal currency.

Mr Sinha was invited by a group of activists under the banner of ‘Lokshahi Bachao Abhiyan’ (Save Democracy Movement) to share his views about note ban and the Goods and Services Tax (GST).     

He claimed that the biggest problem of the country was unemployment.  “Time is running out to do something for the economy in the current situation,” he said.