Wait 8-10 Years to See Benefits of Demonetisation: Nitin Gadkari

In an exclusive interview to Karan Thapar, Gadkari said businesses are more transparent after demonetisation.

Senior journalist Karan Thapar (left) with Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari (right).

(Photo: The Quint)

Video Editor: Mohammad Ibrahim

The first result is that people are alert now. No one wants to do black money transactions because they are cautious.

Nitin Gadkari on demonetisation

In an exclusive interview with senior journalist Karan Thapar for The Quint, Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport and Highways, talks about demonetisation, regarded to be one of the most controversial economic decisions taken by the Modi government.

Gadkari defends the government’s decision, stating that the effects would be visible in time.

Thapar highlights the failure of the policy on four counts, namely, “tackling counterfeit currency, cutting off terror funding, the circulation of black money, and the effect of diminishing the quantity of cash in the economy”. When asked to justify these points, Gadkari says:

For the first time, businesses are transparent. After GST and demonetisation the number of taxpayers have increased. The tax we are receiving has increased. There is more transparency. In corruption cases, there is a lot of improvement.

Nitin Gadkari

Thapar points out that while 18 lakh bank accounts are under scrutiny for suspicious activity, it could take almost 20 years to prove that these accounts hold black money.

Gadkari agrees that the process will take some time. There are no shortcuts in democracy, he says, adding:

The government is taking stern action and large scale black money transactions have stopped. The system of black money has stopped.