M Venkaiah Naidu M Venkaiah Naidu

Money hidden in “bathrooms and bedrooms” have made their way back into the banking system due to the demonetisation exercise, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu said Thursday, acknowledging the role of Jan Dhan accounts. Referring to the RBI report that said 99.3 per cent of the junked Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes have returned to the banking system, Naidu said he wondered why people were worried over it.

He said he was really happy that almost the entire money has come back into the banking system. “The money which was there in ‘bathrooms and bedrooms’ has come back to banks. My simple point is money has come back. How much out of it is black or white, it is the duty of RBI and Income Tax and they will verify,” Naidu said. “If people want to convert black into white…that also is allowed by Parliament..pay the tax..add to the revenue so that the money can be spent for the people,” he said.

Some people had criticised the Jan Dhan scheme, questioning its need when people have no money. “They realised the importance of Jan Dhan on November 8, 2016 (when demonetisation was announced), and started asking their drivers and peons..do you have a bank account?… that is how the money has come back to banks now. That is the secret. Those (suspicious) accounts have to be verified and confirmed,” Naidu said.

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