Modi Govt Will Never Accept It But Note Ban Was Monumental Failure: Manmohan Singh

Indore: Ahead of Madhya Pradesh assembly elections, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday termed demonetisation as a “monumental failure" and said that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government will never admit it.

“Demonetisation was a monumental failure and Modi government will never accept this," the former PM told reporters in Indore.

The senior Congress leader further took potshots at the Modi government and said that demonetisation did not achieve any of the stated objectives. “No black money was recovered," he added.

Earlier, on the second anniversary of demonetisation on November 8, Singh had called note ban an “ill-thought" move that unleashed havoc on the Indian economy.

The former prime minister, also a noted economist, warned that the impact of the note ban was beginning to manifest now. “We are yet to understand and experience the full impact of the demonetisation exercise. With a depreciating currency and rising global oil prices, macro-economic headwinds are also starting to blow now," he had said.

Talking to the media in the poll-bound state. Singh said, “Corruption is peaking under Prime Minister Narendra Modi."

“Careful, well-thought-out and calibrated efforts to weaken democracy in Modi regime; rule of law under attack credibility of institutions like Parliament and CBI being systematically denigrated." he added.

Singh said the notes ban had impacted every person, regardless of age, gender, religion, occupation or creed. “It’s often said that time is a great healer. But unfortunately, in case of demonetisation, the scars and wounds of demonetisation are only getting more visible with time."

Talking about the economy under the NDA regime, Singh had earlier said that beyond the steep drop in headline GDP growth numbers after demonetisation, the deeper ramifications of notebandi were still unravelling.

He added that small and medium businesses that are the cornerstone of India’s economy were yet to recover from the note-ban shock.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too, has mentioned demonetisation in his election speeches, calling it a “bitter" medicine to “cure" corruption.