Demonetisation: Modi flips strategy and asks BJP MPs to submit bank account statements

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asked BJP MPs and MLAs to submit their bank account statements of transaction between 8 November, the day he announced demonetisation, and 31 December to party chief Amit Shah on 1 January, 2017. Modi’s direction at the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting came following allegations by opposition parties that the BJP had tipped off some of its own leaders ahead of the demonetisation announcement. In an apparent response to the charge that the bill to amend I-T Act will help turn black money into white, the Prime Minister said the amended Act will channel the money looted from the poor for their welfare. [caption id=“attachment_3129818” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah. AFP[/caption] The amended Act, he said, is a programme for the poor’s welfare from Lok Kalyan Marg, the new name of the road where the Prime Minister’s residence is located. “The amendment is not for turning black money into white but to spend the money looted from the poor on their welfare,” he said. Quoting Modi, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar told reporters that the bill is part of his government’s fight against blackmoney. A part of the tax collected on the money deposited under this scheme will be spent on electricity, roads, toilets and education among other welfare measures, he said. Modi also sought everybody’s support in his effort to usher in digital/mobile economy and push the society towards cashless transactions. At the meeting, Amit Shah told party MPs to motivate traders in panchayats, municipalities and other local bodies falling in their constituency to shift to cashless transactions. Asked about impasse in Parliament over demonetisation, Kumar said the government has been ready for discussion from the day one of the Winter session and Modi will also intervene in both the House if the opposition wanted. The opposition wants discussion under Rule 56 which entails voting, a condition unacceptable to the government.