RBI, I-T department should ascertain if money deposited post demonetisation is black: Venkaiah Naidu

In a bid to prove the credibility of government's historical decision to ban all the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes of Mahatma Gandhi series, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday urged RBI and the Income Tax Department to ascertain whether the money deposited in banks post demonetisation was 'white or black'.

With an aim to flash out all the black money from its banking system, the Government of India on November 8, 2016, had announced demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 as legal tenders.

Post demonetisation Naidu said, "people started enquiring from drivers, cooks, servants whether they have bank accounts or not", adding that "Some people requested them to park some of their ill-gotten money in bank accounts".

“What was the purpose of demo (demonetisation)? Apart from counterfeit notes, the purpose was to bring money into the system. So, money reached banks with address. What else you want!,” he added.

Read | BJP helping 'suited-booted' friends to convert black money into white, alleges Congress

Therefore, Naidu urged the RBI and I-T department to prove the money which has come back to the banks is white or black. He was speaking at the centenary celebration of New India Assurance in Delhi.

“That should be done at the earliest so that the credibility of these reforms would be maintained. This is my advice to the RBI and also the other agencies involved,” the Vice President was quoted.

Expressing concern over low penetration of insurance in the country, Naidu asked insurers to devise simple, unique and innovative policies so that people buy products on their own.

“Insurance should become assurance that would be good for the country,” he stated.

“Both financial inclusion and industrialisation have to take place hand in hand for India to continue its onward march to become one of the leading economies in the world in the next two decades,” Naidu asserted.

Read | NABARD rebuts Congress’ allegations of Amit Shah-linked bank's demonetisation haul

Last year, the RBI revealed that 99 per cent of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes have been returned to the banking system.

As per the latest RBI data, around Rs 15.28 lakh crore or 99 per cent of the Rs 15.44-lakh-crore worth scrapped currency notes had come back to the banking system during the period from November 8, 2016 and June 30, 2017.

(With inputs from agencies)