After Supreme Court upholds demonetisation, Congress calls it a slap on the government

New Delhi, Jan 02: The Opposition is of the opinion that the decision of the Supreme Court which upheld demonetisation is a tight-slap on the government.

It is a welcome slap on the government's wrist, the opposition, Congress said while welcoming the judgment. The ruling does not say anything on whether or not the objectives of demonetisation were meant, the Congress also added.

Communication head of the Congress, Jaisharm Ramesh said that the Supreme Court has only pronounced on whether Section 26(2) of RBI Act, 1934 was correctly applied or not before announcing demonetisation on November 8 2016. Nothing more, nothing less.

Ramesh also cited Justice B V Nagarathna, the lone dissenting judge on the 5-judge Bench and said that she called the process unlawful. One Hon'ble judge in her dissenting option has said that the Parliament should not have been bypassed.

The judge said nothing on the impact of demonetisation which was a singularly disastrous decision. It damaged the growth momentum, crippled MSMEs, finished off the informal sector and destroyed lakhs and lakhs of livelihoods, the Congress leader also added.

"The majority Supreme Court verdict deals with the limited issue of the PROCESS of decision making not with its OUTCOMES. To say that demonetisation has been upheld by the Honourable Supreme Court is totally misleading and wrong," Jairam Ramesh said.

Senior Congress leader and former finance minister of India, P Chidambaram said that it is necessary to point out that the majority has not upheld the wisdom of the decision. In fact, the majority has steered clear of the question whether the objectives were achieved at all, he added.

While stating that the dissenting order would rank as one of the most famous dissidents recorded in the history of the Supreme Court, Chidamabaram said, 'we are happy that the minority judgement has pointed out the illegality and the irregularities in the Demonetisation. It may be only a slap on the wrist of the government, but a welcome slap on the wrist.

He further aded that the they are happy that the minority judgment has emphasised the important role of Parliament in a democracy. We hope that in future an unbridled Executive will not thrust decisions on Parliament and the people, Chidambaram also added.

Former Congress leader currently with the Shiv Sena, Priynaka Chaturvedi heaped praised on Justice Nagarathna.

Much respect for Justice BV Nagarathna, for standing up & speaking out #Demonetisation," she said in a tweet.