Finance Minister Arun Jaitley termend PM Modi's decision to scrap high-value notes as "historic"
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has created a new "normal" with the "historic" notes ban, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Tuesday at a meeting with BJP lawmakers in which the Prime Minister made an emotional statement.
"By stopping the normal of the last 70 years, PM Modi has created a new normal", Mr Jaitley told BJP MPs on the ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, which has been aggressively attacked by the opposition in parliament.
"This is a huge decision and it took the government a lot of courage," said the Finance Minister, adding that the entire country had welcomed the decision.
Speaking after Mr Jaitley, Prime Minister Modi said the notes ban was to help the poor and "not the end but the beginning of the government's deep and continuous struggle against corruption and black money."
The government on November 8 banned the two highest currency notes - which formed 85 per cent of the cash in circulation - to check tax evasion and terror funding.
The sudden announcement has led to a massive scramble for cash across the nation and huge daily crowds at banks and ATMs. The opposition has ripped into the government over the decision and accused it of imposing on the people a poorly planned scheme at the cost of millions left cashless.
"We did expect queues in the initial stages," Mr Jaitley said. But these, he added, are getting shorter.
"Some people are saying even the Finance Minister did not know of this decision, and then they say the party knew beforehand," he said, taking a swipe at opposition parties who have alleged that the BJP and those close to it were aware of the notes ban and had prepped for it.