Withdrawal of Rs 2,000 notes: Govt ruining economy, alleges Raut; conduct audit of demonetisation, says Aaditya Thackeray

Beed, May 20 (PTI) Slamming the Reserve Bank of India’s decision to withdraw Rs 2,000 notes, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday accused the BJP-led Centre of ruining the country’s economy which he said has led to increased unemployment and inflation.

Talking to reporters here, Raut said people lost their jobs, were made to stand in long queues and their lives were made miserable, referring to the November 2016 note ban announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi under which notes of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 were withdrawn from circulation overnight.

Now again this is leading to the same path, said the Rajya Sabha member.

“Rs 1,000 note will be back, Rs 500 note was always there. The government has made a mockery of the economy which has led to inflation and unemployment,” Raut said.

His party colleague and former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray said the RBI’s latest decision needs to be studied in detail. More so, an audit should be done of the 2016 demonetisation, he added.

The RBI on Friday announced withdrawal of Rs 2,000 currency notes from circulation and said the existing notes in circulation can either be deposited in bank accounts or exchanged by September 30.