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9 Indians who should not have spoken about demonetisation

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DailyBiteNov 14, 2016 | 18:44

9 Indians who should not have spoken about demonetisation

Demonetisation, whatever it may end up doing, is one hell of a move. Sure, it is likely to cause a lot of black money hoarders to perspire and maybe even amount to some getting caught. But given India’s experience and expertise with corruption (not solving it), it is more than likely that at the end of the day, the ones who will have borne the brunt of this move, are the poor.

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People have been queuing day and night to withdraw what little cash they can, in this dire cash crunch. [Photo: Indiatoday.in]

But when it comes to opinions about this move, not all of them are intelligent. Some of them are, in fact, so dumb and ignorant, you feel like facepalming with a landmine. From noted journalists, to MLAs, to industrialists to actors, stupid opinions and worldviews come dime a dozen. Let’s take a moment out of this chaotic day, to laugh at them. But keep in mind. These are rather influential people, so their opinions are more scary than funny. Anyway, here goes nothing:

1) Meet Kanchan Gupta. He is the former editorial director of the, now defunct, right-wing news website NitiCentral. He is a famous columnist and the commissioning editor of ABP News. He believes that “poor people” do not, at all, possess the now decommissioned denominations of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500.

2) Then there is the famous Sudhir Chaudhary, the editor-in-chief of Zee News, extortionist par excellence and also, yes, this too, a Ramnath Goenka awardee. Here is a "patriotic man" who cannot differentiate between personal choice and state-imposed diktats that force people to do things they have no intention of doing at all.

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Of course, this is the same person who also did a whole bit on TV explaining how the new Rs 2,000 currency notes have NGC (not National Geographic Channel, but Nano GPS Chips) that will help the government track black money.

3) Where is the fun in any argument criticising the Modi-led BJP government, unless some blue-blooded patriot does not bring soldiers and the army into the picture? Cue Baba Ramdev, our country's FMCG player-in-chief/Yoga guru/homosexuality curer.

His stellar and rather flawless logic dictates that when soldiers can stay hungry for a week during war, why can’t the citizens? Truer words have never been spoken, good sir.

4) And of course, sweeping generalizations are never far behind whataboutery and straw men. Case in point Dr Subhash Chandra, the chairman of the Essel Group and an MP in the Rajya Sabha, who is of the opinion that anyone who is inconvenienced by demonetisation is obviously a hoarder of black money. This may have been the secret litmus test of the government to figure out who all have cheated the country of taxes. If you have cribbed about long queues on the social media, please expect a raid from the income tax department. 

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5) All members of Parliament are possibly cut from the same cloth. Odisha’s Baijayant Panda (Biju Janta Dal) feels that people crib way too much. It is of course, all too possible that Mr Panda lives under a rock, and is completely unaware of the number of people who have faced the “minor inconvenience” of death, waiting in queues (there have been 16 reported deaths so far). 

6) Remember Sanjay Dixit? He’s the amazing Indian Administrative Service officer based in Rajasthan, who ran a Twitter poll asking Indians if they were prepared for a nuclear war with Pakistan. The same man is of the opinion that not a single poor person remains in India without a bank account. Then again, if you will anything hard enough...

7) The soldier argument that keeps on giving. And when it comes to BJP people, they seem to have milked this cow (no pun intended) at every opportunity possible. Tarun Vijay, former BJP MP, compared every brave citizen standing in queues to a soldier in Siachin. Yeah, it’s totally the same thing.

Of course, Mr Vijay; everyone has personally informed you about their complete readiness to face “minor discomfort”. Obviously, why else you claim to be speaking on the behalf of all of them?

8) Privilege is more of an issue with most people congratulating this move blindly. Of course it is wrong to expect anything different from Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. In an interview with India Today she said "This is going to be a movement to wipe out corruption at all levels so this is a very strong move in that direction and change can always bring about a little bit of discomfort but that's not something we need to focus on. You need to have a the longer overview which is what the head of state is having for country and that's what we are here to respect."

The former Miss Universe should be reminded that not everyone has her royal lifestyle and if anything, if something like this can cause a "little bit of discomfort" in her life, one should shudder at the very idea of what it must be doing to those without even one-hundredth of the privilege she enjoys. 

9) Paytm, the most used online money transfer service in India, went a few extra steps to make sure that everyone was clear about just how arrogant they have gotten since Modi's surgical strike on currency notes has given them the boost of a lifetime. In their newfound business boost, the mobile wallet and ecommerce website decided to mock not only those trying to extend their compassion to the less privileged, but completely dismissed the idea that the poor may in fact be suffering in this cashless environment, and all thanks to their app. Well done Paytm.

Also read - Demonetisation is good only for Modi, no one else

Last updated: November 14, 2016 | 19:06
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