We are not afraid of taking big and tough decision : PM Modi
YANGON: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today justified demonetisation which has come in for criticism, asserting that his government was not afraid of taking “big” and “tough” decisions in the interest of the country. Addressing the Indian diaspora here in Myanmar, he said his government could take such decisions because it considers the country above politics. Along with demonetisation announced on November 8 last year, he named the surgical strikes in Pakistan-occupied
“In the national interest, we are not afraid of taking big and tough decisions because for us, the country is above politics. Whether it be the surgical strikes, demonetisation or GST, all decisions were taken without any fear or hesitation,”PM Modi said, defending his economic decisions before the Indian diaspora in Myanmar last evening.
Referring to the note ban, the prime minister said the step was taken to curb black money and that it had helped identify lakhs of people who had crores of rupees in bank accounts but never paid income tax. He also said that registration of over two lakh companies had been cancelled in last three months as those had been found to be indulging in laundering of black money.
The PM’s comments come in the middle of criticism from economists, analysts and the opposition over the government’s key decisions. Recently, the criticism peaked after the Reserve Bank of India said in its annual report that most of the estimated Rs. 15.4 lakh crore in banned notes had been returned. He also said that registration of over two lakh companies had been cancelled in the last three months after they were found money-laundering.
“To deal with corruption, we banned currency notes of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 denomination. A handful of corrupt people were making 125 crore people pay for their misdeeds. This was not acceptable to us,” PM Modi said in his 35-minute address. Now, the people of the country have begun believing that India can move forward. The shackles can be broken,” he said.
(With inputs from PTI)
