Ubiquitous
Christmas of 2014 had been christened Good Governance Day by the newly-elected NDA Government. Offices had been kept open to…
The BJP is believed to have taken a decision to demonetise high denomination currency notes well before it came to power in 2014. It was part of a package of reforms to eradicate black money and was discussed by top party leaders in confidential meetings during the course of the 2014 Lok Sabha poll campaign.
According to a senior BJP leader who was part of the discussions, several meetings were held on the black money issue to brainstorm on ways and means of tackling the parallel economy. Rajnath Singh, who was party president at that time, Nitin Gadkari and Subramanian Swamy were among those who participated in the discussions. Modi himself attended a couple of the meetings. Getting rid of black money became a major poll plank of the BJP in 2014.
While the war on black money was a declared election promise, the proposal for demonetisation as one of the steps towards its eradication was kept under wraps. The leader said after several rounds of internal discussions, it was decided that the government would go ahead with demonetisation if the BJP won the election. It was also decided that the timing of the decision would be left to Modi who would implement it as and when he thought fit.
Mulling options
With demonetisation creating a host of unforeseen problems, the Modi government is believed to be mulling various proposals to ease the difficulties of sections that have been hit the hardest like farmers, lower middle classes etc.
All kinds of proposals are being tossed around, according to a BJP source who is very active these days. One proposal is to waive farmers’ loans like the UPA 1 government did in 2008. The BJP believes that this move was the single biggest reason for the Congress to win a second term in office in 2009. The source said a loan waiver would give relief to farmers who may lose out on the winter crop because they have not been able to buy seeds and fertilizer due to the currency crunch.
Another proposal in the air is to abolish income tax completely or to reduce it substantially to help out the middle classes hit by the demonetisation move. Income tax could be replaced by a 1 per cent transaction tax on every bank transaction so that the government doesn’t suffer a substantial fall in revenue. Yet another proposal being discussed is a cash transfer to those holding Jan Dhan Yojna bank accounts. The quantum of transfer would depend on the cash flows into banks because of demonetization. It is felt that a cash transfer would be a game changer in UP where the BJP is facing a tough election for the state assembly early next year.
Baring all?
Amar Singh is busy with his memoirs these days. He has been scouting around for an author who can write it for him. Apparently, he first toyed with the idea of hiring an Indian author or journalist but rejected it after much thought. A source close to him said he felt that an Indian would bring his own prejudices and biases into the project.
He has finally picked a British writer whose name is being kept secret till the book is completed. In this respect, he has taken a leaf out of Narendra Modi’s book. Modi too had given unparalleled access to British writer and TV producer Andy Marino during the 2014 election campaign for a biography. The book, when finally published was entitled Narendra Modi: A Political Biography.
Amar Singh’s forthcoming memoirs have a more exciting title. The book is to be called “Life with Weathercocks”. The Rajya Sabha MP promises that it will be a brutally frank appraisal of all his political relationships and encounters from the 1980s. Considering that Amar Singh has been a major mover and shaker in Indian politics for three decades and more and has enjoyed the trust and confidence of a range of political leaders from the late Madhavrao Scindia and late Rajiv Gandhi to Mulayam Singh Yadav and even Narendra Modi, his book should be an interesting account of our times.
In a soup
Jaya Bachchan felt the first shock of demonetization when she arrived in Delhi the evening before the winter session of Parliament was due to open. Her staff in her Delhi residence had not prepared a proper dinner for her because they did not have 100 rupee notes to buy groceries and vegetables.
Jaya found to her shock and horror that the menu on offer for her was almost inedible for someone who has just landed after a tiring day and flight. The staff offered her a choice of Maggi soup, chutney sandwiches or brinjal subzi made with brinjals grown in the Bachchan kitchen garden. That was the best they could do without cash, they told her.
The next morning before she went to Parliament, Jaya did something she has seldom done before. She went grocery and vegetable shopping and paid for everything in plastic money!
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