The Congress on Tuesday, August 8, put forth a big allegation against the BJP-led NDA government in general and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in particular when it claimed that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had printed two types of Rs 500 notes, one of which was sent solely to BJP leaders during elections after demonetisation.
The allegations, made by Congress veteran and former Union minister Kapil Sibal on Tuesday, brought into question the entire demonetisation process and the NDA government's claims that it was done to crack down on corruption.
The accusations led to uproarious scenes in the Rajya Sabha, which was adjourned till 1 pm on Tuesday. However, given the significance of the allegations, the political din — both inside and outside Parliament — will possibly not die down anytime soon.
'Biggest scam of the century'
Speaking during Zero Hour on Tuesday, Sibal tried to introduce a Point of Order in the House, claiming that he had information about the "biggest scam of the century."
He held up a photocopy of what appeared to be two Rs 500 notes and said: "Today we have discovered why the government took the demonetisation decision. The RBI prints two types of currency notes. These are of different size and different design... how is it possible?"
He then went on to allege that while the first kind of notes were circulated in public through banks, the second kind went to BJP leaders for elections. The insinuation here is that the BJP leaders used these second kind of notes to bribe voters and win polls.
Party colleague Ghulam Nabi Azad also joined the din, saying: "We never printed two kinds of notes, one for the party and one for the government — there are two kinds of Rs 500 notes and two kinds of Rs 2,000 notes."
BJP hits back
The BJP chose to attack the very introduction of the attacks, with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley saying: "There is no such provision where you flag any paper and say it's a Point of Order. Irresponsible remarks are being made about the currency. Zero Hour is being misused."
It may be noted here that the RBI had earlier said that it was coming out with a new series of Rs 500 notes, which would have very small differences when compared to the ones released just after demonetisation.
Watch the video of what Kapil Sibal said in the Rajya Sabha right here:
