At note ban briefing, ex-PM Manmohan Singh suggests RBI Governor Urjit Patel to remain silent

"You should not reply to the query (of the Congress MP). Don't answer questions which may create problem for RBI," Manmohan reportedly said.

New Delhi, Jan 18: At the parliamentary panel briefing over note ban on Wednesday, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stepped in to defend Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel. One of the Congress MP, who was part of the panel, raised a contentious question for the RBI chief. Manmohan Singh, who had earlier served as the RBI Governor, was quick to intervene, suggesting Patel to skip the question if the answer would create problem for the central bank.

“Will there be chaos if restrictions on cash withdrawal would be withdrawn,” the Congress MP asked according to NDTV sources. Before Urjit Patel could explain, Manmohan suggested to him to remain silent. “You should not reply to the query. Don’t answer questions which may create problem for RBI,” he reportedly said.

Reports claim that Patel told the parliamentary panel that nearly Rs 9.2 lakh crore, in the form of new notes, has been injected into the system by RBI. However, he refrained from replying the accurate figure of scrapped notes which have been deposited in the banks. On November 8 midnight, old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, worth a total of Rs 15.44 lakh crores were demonetised. According to a Bloomberg report, nearly 97 per cent of the demonetised currency has been deposited in banks.

Another noteworthy point made by Urjit Patel is that the note ban was being planned since January 2016. Although it validates the claims of Prime Minister Modi who said that demonetisation was in the works since the past 10 months, it contradicts the answer given to the RBO to The Indian Express. In its reply to the publication following note ban, RBI claimed that the proposal was made by Centre on November 7, and the central bank gave the nod within the subsequent 24 hours.

The parliamentary panel expressed dissatisfaction over the answers of Urjit Patel. Patel was unable to tell us how much money has come back to the banks,” said TMC MP Saugata Roy.

The RBI Governor is scheduled to appear before Public Accounts Committee (PAC) tomorrow. PAC chief KV Thomas had earlier landed into a controversy by claiming that unsatisfactory explanation of Urjit Patel would force him to summon Prime Minister Narendra Modi.