Why no politicos in bank queues, ask activists

AURANGABAD: As people continue to bear the brunt of the demonetisation move, social activists have raised eyebrows over the conspicuous absence of city’s politicos, businessmen and other influential people from the serpentine queues in outside banks and ATMs.
The activists said it is only the people from the middle and lower middle classes who are queueing up outside banks.
“I have not spotted even a single political leader or a businessmen in bank queues since the demonetisation move came into effect. Does this mean that they do not possess black money? And if this is the case then who are policy makers actually targeting. Is the government under th impression that farmers, labourers and salaried class own the black money and that is the reason they have to pay for their sins standing in unending queues outside banks, ATMs,” B S Mhaske, a social activist and the former head of the department of economics at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, told TOI.
Mhaske said the demonetisation has deprived small retail stores, roadside vendors and daily wage earners of their source of income. “On the other hand, the rich and the powerful continue to live a life without any fear or difficulty,” he said, adding that the government should have targeted the 4-5% people holding the black money without giving a tough time to the common persons.
Another activist Vishnu Dhoble said the demonetisation has failed to impact politicos, top bureaucrats and businessmen. “It is mainly because those holding black money must have smartly invested it in various verticals. I do not think that the black money is in the form of hard cash. It should be in the form of gold, reality investments or in the form of shares of companies,” he claimed.
Dhoble said cases of businessmen using poor people to convert their old currency notes into legal tender. “It clearly shows that they were sitting on a huge amount of unaccounted money, a majority of which has been converted into white money,” he said, adding that if the situation does not improve, it will leave a negative impact on the economy, especially the one in the rural areas where cash transactions are a norm.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena group leader in Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) Raju Vaidya said he recently withdrew cash for himself. “Though most of my money transactions are through bank, I recently withdrew cash from the bank for my personal use.” he claimed.
Sena MLA Sanjay Shirsat said he also stood in a queue to exchange his old currency notes soon after the demonetisation move. “I went to a branch of the Union Bank in the city to deposit my money. I had little cash in the form of old notes. It is true that the common man is suffering a lot and bigwigs, on the contray, have remained unhurt.”