For The First Time, Honest Been Honoured, Says Government On Notes Ban

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's abrupt withdrawal of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes has "taught the corrupt a strong lesson," said minister Piyush Goyal in parliament this morning, responding to a scathing speech by the Congress' Anand Sharma about how the ban has hit the poor, while letting fat cats off the hook.

Mr Goyal said that the removal of the old notes has been so welcomed that "today, a festival of honesty is being celebrated across the country."

"For the first time, the honest have been honoured and the dishonest have been troubled," he said.

Mr Sharma, in the speech that initiated the debate, said that the Congress agrees with the need to cleanse the country of black money. But, he said, the government showed it was ill-prepared to handle the fallout as evidenced by the long lines of people seen for a week at bank branches around the country as people wait for the new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes that have been introduced.

For the most part, financial experts are in agreement that PM Modi's move is a welcome reform and that for it to be effective, it was essential that it be abruptly brought in. But the opposition points out that the notes declared invalid form a whopping 86% of those in circulation, and that the poor, who are outside the banking system, have been stranded cashless. Mr Sharma of the Congress said that "it is poor people, not any rich or industrialists who are waiting in queue (for the new notes)" and alleged that a tip-off to a few people, including branches of the BJP, had helped them to dodge the crackdown, a charge denied by the government.

PM Modi has at different rallies vowed that he needs "just 50 days" to extend his crackdown on black money and corruption and has asked people to bear with short-term inconveniences. He said his reform is like the "kadak chai" he served when he worked as a young tea-seller. "The poor welcomed the taste, but the rich found it unpalatable," he said a few days ago.