2 yrs on, DeMon continues to haunt BJP
Anti-Demonetization Sentiment Was Pervasive In The Just Concluded Polls
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi:
In his book, ‘Of Counsel: The Challenges of the Modi-Jaitley Economy’, former chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian talks about the political puzzle of demonetization turning out to be an electoral vote catcher in the short-term despite the hardship it imposed on people of the country.
Two years on, as shortterm turns into mediumterm, the electoral puzzle may be unravelling. The middle class and the man on the street, who had fully backed PM Modi’s move to scrap ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes, which accounted for nearly 86% of the currency in circulation, are now unsure if the desired goals — from expanding the tax base and reducing black money to promoting digital transactions and checking the circulation of fake notes — have been achieved.
While the government points to a jump in incometax collections and a bigger base to argue that more Indians are now in the tax net than pre-November 2016, Opposition parties never tire of mocking the Modi administration by pointing out that over 99% of scrapped notes were deposited with banks.
This may have been dismissed as a political statement a few months ago but in the just concluded elections, the anti-demonetization sentiment was all pervasive. In Rajasthan, people were themselves raising the issue without even a prod.
Sensing the growing resentment, Ashok Gehlot, a frontrunner for the chief minister’s post in Rajasthan, never shied away from raising the issue at Congress’ public meetings. His party chief Rahul Gandhi had in any case taken the view that demonetisation was an antipoor move that only benefited Modi’s friends in the business community.
GROWING RESENTMENT: The middle class, who had fully backed PM Narendra Modi’s move to scrap ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes, is now unsure if the desired goals have been achieved
Anti-Demonetization Sentiment Was Pervasive In The Just Concluded Polls
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi:
In his book, ‘Of Counsel: The Challenges of the Modi-Jaitley Economy’, former chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian talks about the political puzzle of demonetization turning out to be an electoral vote catcher in the short-term despite the hardship it imposed on people of the country.
Two years on, as shortterm turns into mediumterm, the electoral puzzle may be unravelling. The middle class and the man on the street, who had fully backed PM Modi’s move to scrap ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes, which accounted for nearly 86% of the currency in circulation, are now unsure if the desired goals — from expanding the tax base and reducing black money to promoting digital transactions and checking the circulation of fake notes — have been achieved.
While the government points to a jump in incometax collections and a bigger base to argue that more Indians are now in the tax net than pre-November 2016, Opposition parties never tire of mocking the Modi administration by pointing out that over 99% of scrapped notes were deposited with banks.
This may have been dismissed as a political statement a few months ago but in the just concluded elections, the anti-demonetization sentiment was all pervasive. In Rajasthan, people were themselves raising the issue without even a prod.
Sensing the growing resentment, Ashok Gehlot, a frontrunner for the chief minister’s post in Rajasthan, never shied away from raising the issue at Congress’ public meetings. His party chief Rahul Gandhi had in any case taken the view that demonetisation was an antipoor move that only benefited Modi’s friends in the business community.
GROWING RESENTMENT: The middle class, who had fully backed PM Narendra Modi’s move to scrap ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes, is now unsure if the desired goals have been achieved
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