Nitish Kumar Sets Review Session For Notes Ban, Expect More Praise For PM Narendra Modi

Patna: Nitish Kumar, who has loaned impassioned support to the demonetisation drive, is expected, at a key meeting in two weeks, to disclose to his party that across the state, he has witnessed first-hand wide support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's controversial notes ban.

The 65-year-old Chief Minister of Bihar stood apart as his allies, the Congress and Lalu Yadav, as well as Sharad Yadav, his co show-runner in the Janata Dal (United) or JD(U), tiraded  against the PM for banning high-denomination notes without an adequate plan to contain the fall out of yanking 86% of the notes in circulation. Mr Kumar said the PM must be allowed the "just 50 days" he had sought to resolve the complications that followed his notes ban. But now, on January 23, he has called a meeting of his party in Patna where a review is expected on whether the PM has delivered on his promise. Prominent among the topics of discussion, said sources, will be how the cash shortage has affected Bihari migrant labour, and whether large swathes of it have been forced to return home as a result of manufacturing and other sectors slowing down. Before that session, workers from the three parties in the coalition government will share feedback with ministers on their concerns including demonetisation.

Unlike the Chief Minister, Mr Yadav, who is his party's other power centre, has not held that the jury's still out on whether the PM's notes ban, intended to unearth and punish black money holders, has been successful in any measure. In parliament, Mr Yadav has been among the opposition's main speakers on the demerits of demonetisation. But he refrained, under pressure from Mr Kumar, from joining protest marches in Delhi that were frontlined by leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee.

Yesterday, however, Mr Yadav tweeted,  "Govt & RBI are not giving amount of withdrawn currency deposited in d banks as it seems that it has crossed d figure of 15.44 lakh crore." In the absence of an update from the Reserve Bank of India or RBI, reports have claimed that 97% of the banned notes were returned to banks by the deadline of December 30. Summarising what critics of the reform believe, Mr Yadav tweeted, "Excepting trouble to poor people note bandhi was a futile excercise & rather benefitted certain people & no gain of unearthing black money."

Last week, Mr Kumar hosted PM Modi and a host of political leaders at a huge celebration in Patna of revered Sikh leader Guru Gobind Singh. The PM used the occasion to accolade the Chief Minister for his controversial alcohol-banning law. In that fulsome praise, many saw the PM returning the favour that Mr Kumar extended by backing demonetisation. For now, it appears that the sweet talk between the leaders is not on the verge of running out.