Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked the MPs and MLAs of his party to submit details of their bank transactions held after November 8 — the day he announced the decision to demonetise high-denomination currency — to BJP chief Amit Shah.

Addressing a meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Party here on Tuesday, the Prime Minister said his government is committed to curbing black money and that the demonetisation drive was achieving the desired results. Modi’s direction to BJP leaders is apparently in view of criticism by the Opposition that the ruling party’s leadership was in the know of the demonetisation decision much earlier.

Attacking the Opposition for their “campaign” against the drive, Modi told his Parliament colleagues that the amendment to Income Tax Act will further help in cleaning the system. Talking to reporters after the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said the amended I-T Bill was proof of the BJP’s commitment to end the menace of black money.

Kumar said the Prime Minister lauded the new Bill during the BJP meeting. He said the Bill was a programme for the welfare of the poor. “The amendment is not for turning black money into white but to spend the money looted from the poor on their welfare. I will not allow the country to be weighed down by wads of currency notes of black money,” Kumar quoted the PM as saying. “A part of the tax collected on the money deposited under this scheme will be spent on electricity, roads, toilets and education among other welfare measures,” he said.

Hollow comments: Cong The Opposition, however, termed Modi’s comment as “hollow.” “The BJP had made large investments in land in States like Bihar and Odisha. This happened just before November 8. To get a clear picture, a Joint Parliamentary Committee must investigate the entire episode,” Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said.

BJP president Amit Shah too addressed the meeting. He urged the MPs to counter the “misinformation” campaign launched by the Opposition against the demonetisation drive. Shah also asked MPs to motivate traders in their localities to shift to cashless transactions. Power Minister Piyush Goyal made a presentation to the MPs on mobile and internet money transactions.

Upbeat at poll win The BJP Parliamentary Party was buoyed at the victory of BJP in the local polls in Maharashtra and Gujarat. The party claimed that the victory is a result popular support to demonetisation. “It is clear that people did not like the opposition’s protest against the Modi government’s action against black money and supported the demonetisation decision. The result is an eye-opener for the opposition and an indication of which way the wind is blowing,” HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters after the meeting.

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