How demonetization is affecting common people more than black money holders!
While millions of common people have been stressed over queuing up outside banks and ATMs for their regular transactions, which still continue to allow them to withdraw only a limited amount at once, the exact opposite is happening on the other side of the coin. The corrupt, the black money holders, the ones who allegedly fund terrorists are still in the free, filling stacks of new and old money safely and sometimes getting caught in the process.
This has raised a big question on whether demonetization drive of the Modi government was aimed only at drawing money from common people who hardly meet their living while keeping open loopholes for ministers and industrialists.
1. For the rich: While common people struggle to get their own hard earned money withdrawn, cash leaks in huge stashes are coming into open. MPs and MLAs party have been getting plenty of the new notes while common people are still bound to a meager limit of Rs 2500 per account in a day, after even a month from demonetization.
2. Corruption continues: If the demonetization drive was to fight off corruption, then it is definitely proving its inefficacy in just a month. Banks are supposed to function according to government orders of keeping up with the limits but they are ones behind the big leaks. This shouldn’t have come as a surprise either, had they been better prepared. Mismanagement on the side of the government is evident here.
3. Negligence: If the government hadn’t anticipated this would happen after demonetization, it definitely rushed into the drive with no homework done. Had there been stringent measures to keep money laundering in check, people wouldn’t be suffering from shortage of cash even after an entire month of demonetization. Ten lakhs and crores of rupees have been caught at the hands of political leaders but the common people are still being consoled in the name of digital banking.
4. Small businesses: People who run small businesses and have lived a life unaware of digital banking are ones that are facing the biggest of trouble. Some small businesses across cities and towns are known to die down at the wake of demonetization. Cash crunch has led to a drastic fall in the sale of roadside goods and goods from small stores. People are turning to supermarkets and stores that have the facility of PoS. Teaching beggar how to use digital banking is such a worthless gimmick that they should rather consider installing free PoS at every local stores and shops.
5. Safe passage for black money: The November 29 bill ensured that black money gets easy passage. Those that have stacked black money are being invited to pay half of it to the government and the half of it they are welcome to have as white money. They could lock the half into a government bond for four years and they are free to go. So the black money holders get to keep half of the black money which gets converted into white, while people with no black or white money for that matter gets to face consequences that disturbs their life like nothing else before.
6. Cashless banking consequences: So the poor who only earn enough to hardly meet their daily needs were inspired and started depositing small amounts in their bank accounts. Shocking reports of the money vanishing from their accounts started coming from various regions. The bank people are so busy that they are hardly available to assure these people that it is technical mistake and would be corrected. How are these people supposed to put their faith into something they neither understand nor see any hope for understanding in future?
7. The big fat weddings: From spending crores in royal marriages to using chartered planes to carry their guests, MPs and MLAs and celebrities. Let’s say they are digitalized enough to afford it. But then comes inspiring speeches of our PM on how to throw wedding parties in petty budget. Are common people the only ones that should compromise for something they never got involved in?
8. Digital India: It is not hard to see how the cover up of black money promises is done are in the name of Digital India. Yes, a cashless economy is likely to be less vulnerable to corruption but what about the current problems of mismanagement that is killing people? If the lives of poor are to be treated as war savage in order to serve the greater purpose of ‘long-term good’ for the political parties, it is indeed not a democracy that we are talking of.
9. Parliamentary disruption: The parliament is not functioning. It has been over three weeks into the winter session and neither of the houses has done anything meaningful. Protests followed by big speeches and challenges from one party to the other are the only thing going on. It is the tax payer’s hard earned money that is being wasted here if anything.
