Note ban benefits foreign firms: Congress

Mumbai: Reiterating its stand against demonetisation, the Congress on Thursday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for forcing a cashless economy on people and promoting foreign companies. AICC general secretary in charge of Maharashtra, Mohan Prakash, questioned the Modi government on how much money foreign companies like Paytm — which the government was promoting for going cashless — would make.

“In Delhi, if you refill petrol worth Rs 1,000, Rs 1,028 is deducted from your account. Modi, who is coming to Mumbai, the country’s financial capital, this week, should tell the country where the Rs 28 from people’s pockets goes. Our estimate is that an amount of Rs 4 lakh crore will go to foreign companies that operate cards,” Mr Prakash said while addressing a press conference.

He alleged that it was not possible to issue full-page advertisements in national dailies supporting demonetisation on November 9 after the decision was announced on the night of November 8. “This cannot happen unless the decision was known much before to the company concerned that deals in cashless transactions,” he said. Mr Prakash accused Mr Modi of going in for demonetisation without proper planning and vision at the behest of foreign powers. “In India, savings provide a sense of security. However, Modi, who dons foreign-branded spectacles, will not understand this,” he said.