Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who is a crucial partner of the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), seems to be curious towards the sudden visit of his Telangana counterpart K Chadrasekhar Rao to national capital, that too on the reported invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In fact, after Demonetization, Naidu was in New Delhi last week to attend FICCI’s Education Summit. In this connection he met few central ministers, but at that time Modi was in Japan tour.
Sensing that Chadrasekhar Rao is attempting to take political mileage with meeting Narendra Modi this evening, last evening Naidu dashed a letter to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and also RBI Governor Urjit Patel seeking immediate release of Rs 10,000 crore in smaller denomination notes to overcome the crisis in the state.
He has been periodically conducting reviews with bankers and senior state government officers on demonetization related hardships of the people. Though he is trying to claim that it was he who first suggested to abolish higher value notes to check black money by writing a letter to prime minister, few months ago, he expressed his opposition for releasing a new Rs 2,000 note. He wondered that how such an act helps to curb black money.
Two days ago, instead he suggested the union government to introduce Rs 200 note to help cash starved public. He had already dispatched his finance secretary to RBI to apprise the situation in Andhra Pradesh.
Fearing that his Telangana counter-part may try to influence the center in providing some reliefs to cash starved public, in his letter to finance minister, Naidu sought that RBI should send small denomination notes of Rs.10,20,50 and 100 and new currency notes of Rs.500 to overcome the present crises.
Further, he said the present crisis can be minimized by increasing online banking, smart phone to smart phone transactions as well as using PoS machines. He also said that the center should extend 80 per cent subsidy to procure PoS machines. The banks should exempt the 1.5 per cent commission being charged on online transactions, he added.
Stating that large number of people are using smart phones, mobile phones and having bank accounts and only thing they need is training to start the online transactions, Naidu suggested that the central government should bring reforms and provide tax initiatives to encourage online transactions.
