The 'miracle' of demonetisation: BJP hard at work to prove it wasn't bad economics

Did demonetisation help cleanse the economy and curb corruption?

Though data has proved otherwise, the BJP, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah, celebrated the first anniversary with great pomp, espousing just how successful the sudden note ban was.

To counter the Opposition’s campaign, which observed a black day, prominent BJP leaders and union ministers went on an overdrive on social media and public platforms across the country, enumerating the various benefits of the note ban.

Leading the charge was the Prime Minister, who, in a series of tweets and videos, described demonetisation "a historic and multi-dimensional success", and a "decisive blow" to terrorism and Maoism.

Modi claimed that stone pelting incidents in Kashmir Valley are down by 75%, incidents of left-wing extremism are down by 20% and that 7.62 lakh counterfeit notes were detected.

According Modi, 0.00011% of India's population deposited 33% of the total cash, and in 17.73 cases, the cash transaction did not match the tax profile.

He also said that cash deposit of Rs 3.68 lakh crore in 23.22 lakh accounts is under suspicion.

Modi called demonetisation a surgical strike on shell companies, claiming that 58,000 bank accounts belonging to 35,000 companies were caught transacting Rs 17,000 crore after demonetisation.

He also posted a video enumerating the benefits of the move.

"In the history of any country there are moments where every person feels they want to be a part of that moment. Every common citizen can participate in this war against corruption, black money and counterfeit currency," Modi says.

Marking the demonetisation anniversary in Gujarat, Shah launched a signature campaign endorsing Modi’s commitment for a “new India, free from corruption and black money”.

A host of union ministers also took to social media and patriated in various programs hailing demonetisation and enumerating its benefits.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said demonetisation has greatly impacted terrorism.

"The biggest achievement of demonetisation is that terrorism has been badly hit and the stone pelters which were in thousands have reduced because their cash flow was cut," Sitharaman said in Chennai.

She also wondered if the Opposition, by observing a black day, was actually demonstrating that it is in favour of black money.

Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari in Mumbai claimed that demonetisation has wiped the parallel black economy. He also claimed that it led to a severe crackdown on shell companies forcing them to wind up operations.

Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar marked the party event in Bengaluru where he hit at the Congress for “institutionalising black money".

"Congress had institutionalised corruption and supported black money, while we are bringing honesty and transparency into the system," said Javadekar.

He said due to demonetisation, digital transactions in the country were up by 60 per cent while tax collection has increased by 15 per cent.

In Kolkata, Union minister Jayant Sinha said demonetisation was a miracle.

Taking on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, one of the fiercest critics of the note ban, Sinha said: "Mamata has been saying that demonetisation is a scam. I am here to challenge that, it’s not a scam but a miracle. Our economy is going forward as a result of such a step”.

Sinha said demonetisation has changed at three levels - economics, society and behaviour and national level. The long term benefits are far more than short term benefits.

He also said development cannot be done if tax base to GDP does not increase. The interest rests are coming down and it's boosting the economy .

Sinha said, "It’s a one-time harm, but a long-term benefit. People who are calling it a scam is ignorant. Any science would evaluate this with conviction."

"We have a strong government. This is not a scam, but a miracle," Sinha added.

The BJP also posted several videos on twitter enumerating benefits of demonetisation and countering the criticism by the Opposition.

With inputs from Sulagna Sengupta