NEW DELHI (TIP): Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Urjit Patel has been asked by a parliamentary panel to appear before it again on May 25 over the demonetization issue after former prime minister Manmohan Singh prevailed over BJP MPs in the panel to call him.

Sources said the decision to summon Patel was made at the insistence of Singh, a former RBI governor himself, who had earlier come to Patel’s rescue in the last meeting in January. When Patel was confronted with tough questions from parliamentarians – including queries on the exact amount of demonetized currencies deposited during the 50-day window and the time by when normalcy would return to the banking system – Singh had intervened, saying that the governor’s institution should be respected. The former PM said that Patel didn’t have to answer all questions.

Singh is one of the members of the panel, headed by Congress leader Veerappa Moily.

At the last meeting in January, Patel failed to provide any figure for how many banned notes had been deposited into the banking system and he did not provide clarity on when the cash situation would become normal.