Instagram reel advertising fake currency notes for sale: Priyank Kharge flags matter to PM Narendra Modi

Kharge said that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had revealed in the Parliament that counterfeit Rs 500 notes from 'the Mahatma Gandhi (new) series have seen a 400% increase between 2018-19 and 2023-24.'

Karnataka minister and Congress leader Priyank Kharge flagged to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday Instagram reels advertising the sale of fake currency notes.

In a social media post on X, Kharge said, PM @narendramodi ji, Fake currency is just a call away!"

"The prime reason for you to impose DEMONETISATION on us Indians was to fight fake currency," Kharge said, further adding, "But a barrage of Social Media videos, openly printing and selling ₹ 500 fake currency notes. (sic)"

Kharge said that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had revealed in the Parliament that counterfeit Rs 500 notes from "the Mahatma Gandhi (new) series have seen a 400 per cent increase between 2018-19 and 2023-24."

"Who are these people? Where do they get these fake note printing machines? What happened to your fight against cross-border supply of fake currency?" Kharge asked in his post.

He also questioned what Home Minister Amit Shah is doing to curb the rising number of fake currency notes in the country.

"Is HM @AmitShah only busy in targeting Opposition leaders & toppling elected governments? Why he is unable to crack the whip & take Legal actions against this indiscriminate circulation of fake currency?" he asked.

He also questioned how criminals are being able to openly advertise fake currency notes on Instagram and social media platforms and asked what the government is doing in this regard.

"If Instagram and other social media platforms can be used to sell these fake notes, then why aren’t your agencies monitoring it? What is @FinMinIndia's Financial Intelligence Unit and the @RBI doing?," Kharge asked.

In one of the social media posts Kharge has shared, one can see a huge printing machine adding colour to fake Rs 500 notes to make them look as close as possible to the original ones. The text—"New stocks available for booking" can also be seen in the video.

In another post, a man takes out a bunch of Rs 500 notes from a carton full of them and counts the same using a machine.

In another post where a person is also counting Rs 500 notes, "All India delivery available" is written at the top.