Congress leader and newly elected Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the withdrawal of ₹2000 denomination currency notes from circulation. Siddaramaiah termed it as the BJP's desperate attempt to divert attention from its failures.
Questions raised on BJP's policies
Siddaramaiah questioned the rationale behind the BJP government's decision to introduce ₹2000 notes in 2016 if they had plans to ban them later. He expressed his disappointment and accused the BJP of lacking clarity about their own policies.
"Another note ban by @narendramodi. Sad that the @BJP4India govt does not have clarity about their own policies. Why did they introduce ₹2,000 notes in 2016 if they had plans to ban it? This is BJP's desperate attempt to divert the attention from their failures. #NoteBan," said Siddaramaiah in a tweet.
RBI's directive on ₹2000 currency notes
RBI has advised banks to cease issuing ₹2000 currency notes with immediate effect. However, the notes will continue to remain legal tender, and citizens can deposit them into their bank accounts or exchange them for currency notes of other denominations until September 30, 2023.
Background on the ₹2000 currency notes
The ₹2000 denomination banknote was introduced in November 2016 as a means to quickly meet the currency requirements of the economy after the withdrawal of ₹500 and ₹1000 currency notes. The objective was achieved as other denominations became readily available. Consequently, the printing of ₹2000 currency notes was stopped in 2018-19.
Decline in circulation and lifespan of currency notes
Approximately 89% of the ₹2000 currency notes were issued prior to March 2017 and have reached the end of their estimated lifespan of four to five years. The total value of these currency notes in circulation has decreased from a peak of ₹6.73 lakh crore (37.3% of Notes in Circulation) as of March 31, 2018, to ₹3.62 lakh crore, constituting only 10.8% of Notes in Circulation as of March 31, 2023.
