Sir,
It is against the trouble people face on account of demonatisation of money experienced by all sections that the major political parties such as Congress, Trinamool Congress and Left parties and notable regional parties felt compelled to articulate their concerns to reflect the vexatious voice of the people. To brand such parties as irresponsible and have an axe to grind in thwarting the move is to be intolerant of opposite spectrum of opinion. If only the authorities have factored in the logistics nightmare such a decision would cast on the banking industry with its own staff overworked and exhausted by extended hours of stay and first week-end holidays cut and the consequent silent resentment and rancor for long hours standing in the queue among millions on the streets would have been averted. To mistake people’s stoic silence on the mental torment they undergo in getting their own money from the banks, the institution they blindly put their faith in, is to risk losing their goodwill by design if not by default.
To be fair to the authorities, the Modi government’s latest move on the black money front may help identify counterfeit or fake currencies that were in circulation if they came for exchange or got deposited in the banking system. Terror financing normally does not take place in hard cash as these egregious and nefarious elements deploy other tech-savvy techniques or use digital transfers as widely documented. To fight corruption or fake currency to launch this drastic move would be like a mountain labored to get the birth of a mouse as the concomitant disruption to normal life across the country, both in urban and in rural areas, would be too inconvenient to be ignored.
Unless the authorities mount a resolute battle against cash transaction-ridden segments like real estate, construction industry, jewellery trade and on professionals such as accountants, lawyers and doctors who get paid only in cash and do not give any receipt for their own tax evasive purposes, the tilting of windmills may yield at best derisory results but pile up problems for the rest of all honest taxpayers.
Yours etc…
G Srinivasan
N. Delhi
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