Modi pushes for use of mobiles to deal with cash crunch

As ordinary citizens grapple with demonetisation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asked the people to let their mobile phones serve as a bank branch to deal with corruption and black money.

He said the number of mobiles is four times the number of families and people should use their mobiles to make payments.

“You can download mobile applications provided by banks on your phones and I want to urge political leaders, teachers, youth to give training to people on mobile banking,” he said.

Modi said demonetisation is a step to give poor people their rights.

“You know because of corruption, black money, the middle class had been exploited and poor people were devoid of their rights. I want to stop it and give poor people their due rights,” he said adding, “the trade of black money is eating into the country like termite.” Attacking political rivals and those opposed to the demonetisation scheme, the Prime Minister on Friday lashed out at them saying they would have lavished praise on him if he had given them time before announcing the move.

“Some people are criticising saying the government did not make ample preparation. I think that is not the issue that the government did not make ample preparation. I think the pain of such people is that the government did not give a chance to make any preparation,” he said at a book launch function.

“If these people had got 72 hours to make their preparation then they would have lavished praise that there is no one like Modi,” he stressed.

Even as the Punjab Assembly polls draw nearer,  Modi said that elections didn’t matter to him, and that he was more concerned for farmers’ well-being, while discussing the Indus Water treaty at the foundation ceremony of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Bathinda.

“For me, elections do not matter. I am more concerned about the welfare of the farmers,”’ the Prime Minister said.

The PM on Friday directed all ministries and departments to switch to online transactions or cheque mode and at the same time ensure downstream payments, including by contractors to labourers, go cashless too.

The Prime Minister’s remarks come amid a standoff in Parliament on the issue with the opposition stepping up their attack on the government. 

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had on Thursday said the step was “a case of organised loot and legalised plunder” and reflected a “monumental management failure”.