Who's burying dissent? :: Panel on DeMon
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/govt-burying-mps-panel-report-on-demonetisation/article24803196.ece
Who's burying dissent?
This refers to the report “Govt seen ‘burying’ MP’s panel report on DeMo” (August 29). It is intriguing that the failure of a committee headed by a Congress leader with substantial representation from opposition parties to finalize its report in one year is described as an attempt by the government to ‘bury’ the report. The committee has senior MPs as its members who must have been well aware of the procedures and therefore one gets curious to know why the committee went slow in its deliberations and preparation of the report, in the first place.
It is well known that Congress and some other political parties, besides some celebrity economists had a different view on withdrawal of legal tender status of Rs500 and Rs1000 currency notes announced by the government on November 8, 2016. A year later, even Dr Raghuram Rajan who was RBI governor when Centre and RBI were considering demonetization, and making preparations, had made public statements to the effect that he had reservations about the measure. During the last one year, the Veerappa Moily Committee would have studied various aspects of demonetization and come to some conclusions about the pros and cons of the decision to demonetize and the adequacy of preparations made before the announcement of the decision and deficiencies in implementation post-November 8, 2016.
Now that the one-year allowed to it is getting over, in the national interest, the committee should make available its findings to the parliament. The differences in views within the committee are internal for the chairman of the committee to sort out. The opposition which has substantial presence in the committee should not use the Standing Committee also as a tool for the political blame game, by stalling the report.
M G Warrier, Mumbai
Comments