Mamata Banerjee-Amit Malviya wage Twitter war over phasing out of Rs 2,000 notes

Kolkata, May 20

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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and in-charge of the BJP’s IT cell Amit Malviya have waged a war on Twitter over the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) move to withdraw Rs 2,000 banknotes from circulation.

In a tweet, Banerjee said: “So it wasn’t Rs 2,000 dhamaka but a billion dollar dhoka to a billion Indians. Wake up my dear brothers and sisters. The suffering we have endured due to demonetisation can’t be forgotten and those who inflicted that suffering shouldn’t be forgiven.”

Countering her post, Malviya said: “Arrest memo of Partha Chatterjee, former Education Minister in WB Govt, had mentioned Mamata Banerjee as his relative/friend, whom person taken in custody intends to inform… Partha was arrested for the teacher recruitment scam and more than 50 crore in cash was recovered from his partner Arpita Mukherjee’s home. Both Arpita and Partha are very close to Mamata Banerjee.

“All the money, it seems, was collected in Rs 2,000 notes. It obviously hurts when it strikes so close…” In its announcement on Friday evening, the RBI said that it will withdraw the Rs 2,000 denomination banknote from circulation but it will continue as legal tender.

“The 2,000 denomination banknote was introduced in November 2016 primarily to meet the currency requirements of the economy in an expeditious manner after the withdrawal of legal tender status of all 500 and 1,000 banknotes in circulation at that time.” It also said that all banks will provide deposit and/or exchange facility for 2,000 banknotes until September 30, 2023.

The RBI said the move to withdraw the banknotes was part of its clean note policy.