Chandrababu Naidu demands ban on Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 notes to end corruption

Telugu Desam Party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday demanded demonetisation of Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 notes to root out corruption, particularly in politics. 

Replying to a debate in the state assembly in Amaravati, the chief minister also suggested that the push for cashless transactions should continue with more vigour. He wanted all transactions to be made online and said Andhra Pradesh had been making progress in that direction. 

Naidu was the chairman of the 13-member committee of Niti Aayog on cashless economy constituted in November 2016, when the NDA government launched the demonetisation drive. 

“I was the first politician in the country to demand a ban on currency of high value denominations. I am demanding again now to ban the same high value currency of Rs 2,000 and Rs 500,” he said. "If you ban Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 notes, no party can distribute money in elections. How much money of Rs 100 denomination can the leaders carry?” 

He said his government had been struggling day and night to take up developmental works across the state. “But, just before elections, somebody from Bombay or Bangalore enters the scene with bundles of cash. Why should we be afraid of such people? We should ask votes based on our service and the administration we give to them,” Naidu said. 

Referring to the allegations levelled by popular Telugu actor and Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan that the TDP had already parked Rs 25 crore each in all the 175 assembly constituencies for the next elections, the chief minister said: “Let the government ban Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 notes immediately. If at all I had already diverted cash to the constituencies, it would become useless if the high value currency is banned.” 

Naidu spoke at length on the corruption charges levelled against his government by the BJP, with which he had snapped ties in the last fortnight over special staus for Andhra Pradesh. "My reply to all those who level corruption charges on my government is that we have proved our sincerity to end corruption by making online all payments under welfare schemes, right from social security pensions. It is because of zero corruption investors from across the globe are coming to Andhra Pradesh," he added.