CM Kejriwal seeks ‘white paper’ on demonetisation

New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said that the people of the country suffered “immensely” due to demonetisation and asked the Centre to come out with a “white paper” on what was achieved through it. The chief minister’s demand came after the RBI said 99.3 per cent of the junked Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes have returned to the banking system.

“People suffered immensely due to demonetisation. Many died. Business suffered. People have a rt to know — what was achieved thro demonetization? Govt shud come out wid a white paper on the same (sic),” the Delhi chief minister tweeted.

In the past, Mr Kejriwal and his party have hit out at the BJP-led central government over demonetisation. Last year, he had demanded an independent inquiry on demonetisation, calling it the “scam of all scams”.

The Reserve Bank of India, after an awfully long period of counting of returned bank notes, on Wednesday said that as much as 99.3 per cent of the junked notes have returned to the banking system.

Of the Rs 15.41 lakh crore worth Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in circulation on November 8, 2016, when the note ban was announced, notes worth Rs 15.31 lakh crore have been returned.

The Congress has also demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly lying to the country over the demonetisation issue.