The loud protests in the wake of the currency ban has left the saffron politics of the ruling party completely off tune, with Parliament becoming a battleground in which the opposition gladiators are making all the deep jabs they can on the ruling party.
Economists who have connections with the Congress or Left parties are apprehensive that this ban may turn into the last nail in the coffin of the Modi government. Reason? Similar moves in the past in other countries like the USSR, Ghana, Nigeria and North Korea had brought internal turmoil.
When a poor African country like Ghana put a ban on big currency back in 1982 in order to curb corruption and tax evasion, the decision threw the country to the wolves. A handful of rich people converted their money into foreign currencies.
It was the common man who suffered the most. Most reached banks after travelling miles but returned empty handed due to the scarcity of new currency. Many of those who did get new currency were looted on their way back.
There were bundles and bundles of old currency lying waste after the expiry of the deadline. The economy of the country was ruined completely. Similar crises were triggered in other African countries like Nigeria and Zaire when they went for demonitisation.
North Korea faced severe consequences when Dictator Kim Jong II imposed a currency ban. Agriculture in the country was adversely affected and people died of starvation. The dictator had to apologise to the citizens. His finance minister was held responsible for that imprudent move and was sentenced to death.
Currency ban was suddenly declared in the USSR in 1991 by the then President Mikhail Gorbachev. His government declared one third of the circulated money illegal.
The move led to high inflation in the country and its economy was shattered. Eventually, this led to the breakup of USSR. God willing, in India too, the politics of these sly jackals (read economists) who triggered this crisis will exposed soon and give some relief to poor Modi, who is being needled across parties for this.