Congress leader P Chidambaram said on Thursday that Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) was a 'jumla' and "an exercise in self-deception" by the Modi government, alleging that the accounts were used to launder money after demonetisation.

Addressing a press conference, Chidambaram said financial inclusion did not begin with the Jan Dhan Yojana as Prime Minister Modi "would like us to believe."

The former Finance Minister said the UPA government sowed the idea of financial inclusion and the RBI introduced the Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account (BSBDA) which was also called the "no frills account" or "zero balance account".

"Until May 2014, 25 crore BSBD accounts had been opened and the average citizen began to enjoy the advantages of modern banking. Simultaneously, the Aadhaar programme was rolled out and 65 crore Aadhaar numbers were issued by May 2014," he said.

He said BSBDA and Aadhaar were "historic achievements" and were possible because Congress-led government created a financial architecture, including National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), Universal Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the NPCI-launched Immediate Payment System (IMPS), BSBDA and NPCI -- launched RuPay card.