JOIN USFormer prime minister Manmohan Singh came to the rescue of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel who was facing some tricky questions from a parliamentary panel on Wednesday.
During a meeting of the Standing Committee on Finance, Congress leaders Digivijaya Singh and Jyotiraditya Scindia fired a series of questions on demonetisation, such as the total amount in scrapped notes deposited with banks and the time taken to restore normal banking operations.
But when Digvijaya Singh sought to know if “chaos” would break out if the RBI lifted all restrictions on cash withdrawals, the former prime minister advised Patel not to answer the question, a member of the committee told DH.
Manmohan Singh, a former RBI governor, was of the view that the dignity of the central bank should be maintained.
Manmohan Singh also suggested that RBI Deputy Governors R Gandhi and S S Mundra, who were also present at the meeting, answer the supplementary questions put forth by the members.
Patel told the members that the RBI and the Union government had been discussing the demonetisation issue since January last year.
As per the assessment by the central bank, the impact of demonetisation on the economy was assessed to be temporary in nature and beneficial in the long run, Patel told the panel.