Was Jaitley in the loop on note ban? Finance Ministry won't say

New Delhi: The finance ministry has refused to reveal whether finance minister Arun Jaitley had been consulted before the announcement of the demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency notes by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8, 2016.

The Press Trust of India news agency had filed a query on this under the Right to Information Act. The Prime Minister’s Office and the Reserve Bank of India had earlier replied that the query on whether the finance minister and the chief economic adviser were consulted before the announcement doesn’t come under the definition of “information” under the RTI Act. The definition of “information” under this law refers to “any material in any form” under the control of a public authority.

The response to the RTI query assumes significance as it acknowledges that there are records pertaining to the question, but that these cannot be disclosed under the Right to Information Act. The finance ministry has taken refuge under the exemption clause of Section 8(1)(a) of the RTI Act to deny information. It did not, however, give any reasons as to how this information would attract the section.

The three key institutions that are directly related to the demonetisation move — PMO, RBI and the finance ministry — have refused to disclose information on the sudden measure under different pretexts, the news agency said. The finance ministry is the latest respondent to the RTI query, PTI added.