india

Updated: Nov 23, 2016 20:44 IST

Most of the people who took part in a survey to gauge public opinion on the scrapping of high-value banknotes have supported the move, results posted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Twitter showed on Wednesday.

Modi thanked people for their ‘historic participation’ in the survey, and posted the outcome that claimed 98% of five lakh respondents felt “the evil of corruption and black money” --- the reasons the government said were behind the move --- needed to be dealt with sternly.

In the face of criticism by opposition parties that have termed the decision an “economic anarchy” and stalled proceedings in the ongoing winter session, Modi asked people on Tuesday if they were ready to face hardship for some time in the fight against counterfeiting. The survey was available on Modi’s mobile app.

“In just over 24 hours of the survey, more than five lakh people (till 3:30pm) have participated and expressed their opinion. This is a staggering number by any stretch. No opinion survey conducted in India, on such policy or political issues, even comes close to sampling so many responses,” said a post on the PM’s website (narendramodi.in).

“More than 90% of the respondents feel the government’s move to tackle black money is above four-star rating. 73% of them give it five-star rating of brilliant.”

Modi’s surprise decision on November 8 to ban Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes has triggered chaos across the country, with people queuing up outside banks and ATMs to exchange or withdraw cash. Opposition parties have blamed at least 50 deaths on the sudden step, demanding Modi’s participation in a Parliament debate on the issue.

“On the overall fight against corruption, more than 92% of respondents either rate the government as very good or good. 57% of them rate the fight as Very Good,” Modi’s website said.

The report said more than 93% of the respondents support the demonetisation, while just 2% “have rated the move as very poor or one star”.