Samajwadi Party general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of orchestrating the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 currency notes from circulation as a diversion tactic following their defeat in the Karnataka assembly elections. Yadav’s statement came in response to the Reserve Bank of India’s recent announcement regarding the withdrawal of the said currency notes, allowing the public until September 30 to either deposit them in accounts or exchange them at banks.
Yadav criticized the BJP, stating that they seemed to be disoriented and lacked a clear understanding of what actions should be taken. He claimed that the withdrawal of the Rs 2,000 notes was a desperate move by the ruling party to divert the public’s attention from their significant loss in the Karnataka elections. Describing the decision as a “Tughlaqi farmaan” (a decree reminiscent of the medieval ruler Muhammad bin Tughlaq), Yadav drew a parallel to history by highlighting how Tughlaq had abruptly shifted his capital from Delhi to Daulatabad and then back, citing water scarcity as the reason. According to Yadav, the ban on the Rs 2,000 note mirrored this impulsive decree.
Yadav further emphasized that after the demonetization of the previous Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, the government had introduced the new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes. He pointed out that an enormous amount of money, approximately Rs 1,500 crores, had been spent solely on printing the Rs 2,000 notes, and now all that effort would be in vain. Yadav criticized the government, claiming that they were recklessly wasting thousands of crores of rupees with this decision.
The Samajwadi Party’s allegations regarding the withdrawal of the Rs 2,000 currency notes as a diversionary tactic reflect their discontent with the BJP’s electoral defeat in Karnataka. While the Reserve Bank of India’s decision aims to tackle issues related to counterfeit currency and money laundering, Yadav’s assertions imply that the ruling party is attempting to shift the focus away from their political setback. As the issue unfolds, it remains to be seen how the withdrawal of the Rs 2,000 notes will impact the public and whether it will indeed serve as a distraction from the BJP’s electoral defeat.
