A demand to gradually phase out Rs 2,000 currency notes was made in the Rajya Sabha on Monday with BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi saying citizens holding such banknotes should be given two years to deposit them.
Raising the issue through a zero-hour mention, he said Rs 2,000 notes have vanished from most ATMs in the country and there are rumours that they may not be legal tender soon.
"The government has to clarify on this," he said, adding the RBI stopped printing the Rs 2,000 currency notes 3 years back.
The Rs 2,000 currency note along with a new Rs 500 note was introduced when the government overnight demonetised old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes.
"There was no logic of bringing a Rs 2,000 note when Rs 1,000 note circulation was stopped," he said and went on to cite examples of developed nations that do not have currency notes of higher denomination.
He said Rs 2,000 notes are being hoarded and are often used in illegal trades such as that drugs, and money laundering.
The Rs 2,000 note - the highest currency denomination in the country - has become synonymous with black money, he said.
"The government should gradually phase out the Rs 2,000 note. Citizens should be given 2 years to exchange their holdings of the Rs 2,000 notes," he said.
