'Demonetisation an organised loot and legalised plunder': Twitter reviews Manmohan's speech

On Thursday, November 24, former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh spoke in the Rajya Sabha. The economist who has formerly served in key posts such as finance minister, chief economic adviser, head of the Planning Commission and Reserve Bank of India governor criticised the government’s move to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.

“The prime minister has been arguing that this is the way to curb black money, to prevent the growth of fake currency notes and also to help control terrorist activities. I do not disagree with these objectives, but in the process of demonetisation, monumental mismanagement has been undertaken,” said Dr Singh.

Further attacking the Modi government’s inept handling of the demonetisation drive, Singh quoted economist John Keynes, in what was perhaps, the most poignant phrase uttered by the ex-PM - “Even those who say this measure will cause distress in the short run, but will be in the interest of the country in the long run, I am reminded of what John Keynes said once: In the long run, we are all dead.”

The former prime minister, whose opinion on this issue has been highly sought after, had so far remained silent. But in ten minutes, Dr Singh managed to bring forth all the issues that point towards the demonetisation drive’s cracks.

Dr Singh also reiterated a point that has been one of the most important criticisms of this drive. He criticised the government’s insistence that people should wait for 50 days to estimate the effects of the move. According to him “50 days can bring about disastrous effects for the poor”.

“People have money in the bank, but they are not allowed to withdraw it. This alone is enough to condemn what has been done,” he said.

The Congress leader concluded his address with a sharp jab at the demonetisation drive as he called it “a monumental management failure” and “a case of organised loot and legalised plunder”.

Dr Singh’s speech in the Rajya Sabha earned him not only applause in the House, but also widespread praise. The notoriously silent ex-prime minister managed to surprise people with such an open and strong protest against the Narendra Modi government’s decision to decommission Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.

There are of course those who did not think too highly of his address. Some argued that Singh’s moral grandstanding on this government’s economic failures was uncalled for, considering the fact that the Congress, in its dynastic rule over India, perpetrated more organised loot and legalised plunder than ever before.

Throughout Dr Singh’s tenure as the PM of India, if there has been anything that’s been starkly iconic, it has been his silence. Singh has in fact been so meek, that his famous silence turned from legitimate criticism into a joke. Apparently, the joke still lives on.

Thankfully, that’s not the only joke that people came up with.

Also read - Demonetisation has hit microfinance hard (and no one's talking about it)