Congress questions Modi on demonetisation figures in speech

The Congress today questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi over figures quoted in his Independence Day speech on demonetisation, and asked him how he knew that Rs three lakh crore had come into the banking system when the RBI was still counting notes.

Senior Congress spokesperson Ghulam Nabi Azad said the claim made by the prime minister yesterday of Rs three lakh crore getting into the banking system post-demonetisation, is in clear contrast to what the RBI has said.

"The prime minister said Rs 3 lakh crore which were not in the banking system have come into it. We ask the prime minister, how much money has come in after demonetisation. We were told that the RBI is still counting...it may take decades to count.

"When RBI is still counting then how has the prime minister come up with this Rs 3 lakh crore figure...Two contrary stands are being taken by the prime minister of India and the Reserve Bank of India," he told reporters.

Azad, the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha, said this is a big question as either the prime minister or the RBI is lying.

"Since the counting of money is in progress, how can the prime minister make this claim. Is he now befooling the people of India? If this information is with the prime minister, then why the reserve bank did not share this information in Parliament," he asked.

He further said both the prime minister and the RBI have to answer as to who is lying.

He also raised questions over the recovery of Rs 75,000 crore in black money, even as the RBI is still counting the money and is yet to come up with a substantive figure.

"If the RBI is yet to segregate between the fake money and the black money, post-demonetisation, then where did this figure come from?" Azad asked.

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)