Demonetisation is a historic step; 'white' transactions to be new norm: Arun Jaitley

Jaitley said that demonetisation is a very big decision and government has exhibited great courage by going ahead with it.

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: Hailing the demonetisation drive initiated by PM Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said that the government is ready for discussion on it.

"We took the opposition by surprise when they asked for a debate and we agreed but before we could reply they started disruption by saying that we don`t want to debate. We are ready for discussion on demonetisation and we have said it several times," he said.

Addressing MPs at the BJP Parliamentary party meeting, Jaitley said, demonetisation is “a very big decision and government has exhibited great courage by going ahead with demonetisation.”

By stopping the 'normal' of last 70 years, PM Modi has created a new 'normal', Jaitley said.

Stating that the decision for demonetisation has been taken for benefit of the common man, Jaitley added that note ban will rid several people out of poverty.

Terming demonetisation a historic decision, the finance minister added that the Left should look at the intent with which this move was undertaken and how this helps the poor in the long run.

“The scale of the operations and the requirement for secrecy made demonetisation a challenging task,” he said.

Rebutting criticism that the party knew about note-ban decision, the FM said, “Some people are saying that even FM did not know of this decision, and then they say the party knew beforehand”.

The Finance Minister also used the occasion to reach out to the farming community.

"For next few weeks, we are planning to focus on the agricultural sector. Rabi season is also coming, we need to assist all these needs," he said.Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha witnessed uproarious scene today as a united opposition stuck to its demand to discuss the demonetisation issue under rules entailing voting.

Taking the nation by surprise, in a major assault on black money, fake currency and corruption, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8 announced the demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes with effect from midnight, making these currency papers invalid.