PM Narendra Modi Won't Be Called, Says Parliament Panel Overruling Congress Chief

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot be asked to explain his decision to ban high-denomination notes to the parliamentarians on a committee  examining the sudden demonetisation drive, its members decided today, overruling what the chairman of the panel said just days ago.

KV Thomas of the opposition Congress is Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament.  On Monday, he said that PM Modi could be ordered to meet  the panel to outline the process that led to high-denomination notes being cancelled at just a few hours' notice on November 8. Whether that happens, he said, will depend on the details disclosed by RBI Governor Urjit Patel, who has been summoned by the committee on January 20.

Mr Patel will have to defend the RBI's role in the abolition of notes that collectively formed 86 per cent of the notes in circulation. A written explanation sent to the committee and accessed by NDTV states that it was the government that "advised" the RBI to cancel the notes, which was approved by the central bank's board just a day later. 24 hours after that, PM Modi announced the currency was invalid.

The three BJP members who are on the committee strongly objected to Mr Thomas' claim that after the RBI Governor, the PM could be asked to appear in person.

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After their pushback, the committee has released a statement clarifying that rules do not permit the summoning of ministers before committees "either to give evidence or consultation in connection with the examination of estimates of accounts. However, Chairperson, when considered necessary but after its deliberations are concluded, may have an informal interaction with the Minister."

When the Congress led the UPA government, its members had objected to Murli Manohar Joshi, who at the time headed the same committee, summoning then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in connection with the 2G or telecom scam. Mr Joshi was overruled as the committee was dominated by members of the ruling coalition.

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