The Indian Panorama

Tag: Jairam Ramesh

  • Nation paid price for BJP’s compulsion to get donations at all costs: Jairam Ramesh

    Nation paid price for BJP’s compulsion to get donations at all costs: Jairam Ramesh

    NEW DELHI (TIP): The Congress on April 4 alleged that the nation has had to pay a price as the BJP’s “compulsion” to get donations at all costs prompted the government to come up with the electoral bond scheme despite the Reserve Bank of India’s advice against it.

    Congress General Secretary (Communication) Jairam Ramesh made these remarks on The Hindu news report on Thursday, April 4, that pointed out how 33 loss-making firms donated electoral bonds worth ₹576.2 crore, out of which 75% was enchased by the BJP.
    “There are four primary channels of corruption in the Electoral Bond Scam, and with each passing day, more examples emerge to confirm the shocking reality of the corruption which has engulfed this country through Narendra Modi’s encouragement. An update on the latest revelations on the ‘Farzi Companies’ who have been donating chanda to the BJP Chanda Do, Dhandha Lo; Theka Lo, Rishvat Do; Hafta Vasuli; Farzi [shell] Companies,” Mr. Ramesh said in a post on X (formerly Twitter), tagging the news report.

    The Congress leader alleged that the shell companies were merely acting as fronts for other companies.

    “When the Electoral Bonds Scheme was first floated by the Modi Sarkar, the RBI raised concerns regarding the high possibility of it being used for money laundering. The BJP’s compulsion to get chanda at all costs saw it go ahead with this scheme without heeding this astute advice. The nation has paid the price!” Mr. Ramesh said in his post.

  • Political row over India’s new parliament opening

    Political row over India’s new parliament opening

    New Delhi (TIP)- The government and opposition have been trading barbs over the inauguration of India’s new parliament building. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate it on on 28 May.
    Opposition leaders have accused the government of “constitutional impropriety” by not requesting the president to open the building. They have also criticised the government’s choice of date which is also the birth anniversary of Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar. Opposition parties consider Savarkar as a divisive figure, while the ruling BJP hails him as a hero. Leaders from opposition parties said the choice of the inauguration date was an “insult” to India’s founding fathers. Congress MP Jairam Ramesh criticised the government’s decision to inaugurate the new parliament building “on the birth anniversary of the man who opposed Mahatma Gandhi vehemently all his life”. The BJP has defended the decision, saying the new building was a matter of pride for Indians.
    Work on the new parliament began in January 2021.
    The four-storey building – designed by HCP Design, Planning and Management and constructed by Tata Projects – has increased seating capacity and is built at at an estimated cost of 9.7bn rupees ($117.1m, £94.2m).
    The existing colonial-era parliament building will continue to be used.
    As plans for the inauguration of the new building were announced last week, several opposition parties criticised the government’s exclusion of Indian President Draupadi Murmu – the head of state – from the event.
    Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that the building should be inaugurated by her.
    “The parliament of India is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India, and the President of India is its highest constitutional authority. She alone represents government, opposition, and every citizen alike,” Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge wrote on Twitter. “Inauguration of the new parliament building by her will symbolise [the] government’s commitment to democratic values and constitutional propriety,” his tweet read.
    Gaurav Bhatia, a spokesperson of the BJP, dismissed the criticism as “chest-beating” by the Congress party. He also said Gandhi was “a bad omen during auspicious times” who could not welcome the “historic moment”.
    25 parties to attend event, 20 to boycott
    A political row over the decision to have Prime Minister Narendra Modi preside over the inauguration of the new Parliament building instead of President Droupadi Murmu has erupted with 20 Opposition parties having decided to boycott the event, scheduled for Sunday. The row has sparked a debate on the role of the President and the Prime Minister in the constitutional framework. On Thursday, May 25, a lawyer also petitioned the Supreme Court, seeking an invite for President Droupadi Murmu to the preside over the cermony. The top court is expected to hear the petition on Friday.20 parties including the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, Trinamool Congress and others issued a joint statment Wednesday, describing PM Modi’s decision to inaugurate the new Parliament as an “assault on democracy”. While some parties including the Biju Janata Dal have accepted the invite hailing the event “in the true spirit of democracy” and a “momentous occasion”.

  • RBI to withdraw Rs 2,000 currency notes from circulation

    RBI to withdraw Rs 2,000 currency notes from circulation

    NEW DELHI (TIP): The Rs 2,000 currency note, introduced after demonetization in 2016, will be withdrawn from circulation from September 30, said an RBI statement.

    RBI cites reasons

    Introduced after DeMo in 2016, RBI says objective achieved as notes in other denominations now adequately available. As 89% of the Rs 2,000 notes issued before March 2017, these are at the end of estimated four to five-year lifespan

    Notes no longer commonly used for transactions — usage declines from 37.3% in 2018 to 10.8% in March 2023

    People holding the notes can deposit or exchange these up to a limit of Rs 20,000 at any bank branch beginning May 23. The RBI has asked banks to stop issuing the Rs 2,000 denomination notes with immediate effect.

    A statement from the RBI gave several reasons for the move. The first was that the objective of introducing Rs 2,000 banknotes was met once notes in other denominations became available in adequate number. It claimed that these notes were “primarily” introduced after demonetization to meet the currency requirement after the withdrawal of legal tender status of all Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 banknotes in circulation then. Therefore, the printing of Rs 2,000 banknotes was stopped in 2018-19.

    Clean note policy

    The move comes amid concerns of the Rs 2,000 notes being used to hoard black money

    The RBI had stopped printing Rs 2,000 notes in 2018-19 and the notes were rarely in circulation; cites its ‘Clean Note Policy’ to phase out the notes

    Secondly, about 89 per cent of the Rs 2,000 banknotes were issued before March 2017 and were at the end of their estimated life-span of four-five years, it said. Their withdrawal, therefore, is warranted under the RBI’s “Clean Note Policy”. Thirdly, the RBI observed that this denomination of notes were not commonly used for transaction.

    The total value of these banknotes in circulation has declined from 37.3 per cent of notes in circulation in 2018 to 10.8 per cent as on March 31, 2023. “It may be noted that the RBI had undertaken a similar withdrawal of notes from circulation in 2013-14. Accordingly, the public may deposit Rs 2,000 banknotes in their bank accounts or exchange these into banknotes of other denominations at any bank branch. Deposit into bank accounts can be made in the usual manner without restrictions and subject to extant instructions and other applicable statutory provisions,” said the RBI in its statement.

    Rs 6.73 lakh cr Worth Rs 2K notes on Mar 31, 2018 (37.3% of all notes in circulation)

    Rs 3.62 lakh cr Worth of notes on Mar 31, 2023 (10.8% of all notes in market)

    Meanwhile, the Opposition parties attacked the BJP government. “Typical of our self-styled Vishwaguru. First Act, Second Think (FAST). 2000-rupee notes introduced with such fanfare after that singularly disastrous ‘Tughlaqi firman’ of Nov 8 2016 are now being withdrawn (sic),” tweeted Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, targeting PM Narendra Modi.

    Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said the “ghost” of November 8, 2016, had come back to haunt the nation once again. “…the PM sermonized the nation on the benefits of the new Rs 2,000 notes. Today, when the printing is stopped, what happened to all those promises?”’ said Khera.

    Rs 20,000 exchange rider

    The RBI has allowed the maximum deposit or exchange of Rs 20,000 worth of Rs 2,000 notes at a time

    The CPM, NCP and other parties also criticized the government over the withdrawal. Countering the Opposition’s criticism, the BJP dubbed them as “fear mongers”. “What does a desperate and issueless Opposition do when the RBI takes a decision to withdraw Rs 2,000 note, of which there (withdrawing and introducing currency notes) are several precedence in the past?” tweeted BJP’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya.