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RBI Governor Urjit Patel will not appear before the Standing Committee of Parliament on Finance, which is supposed to discuss the impact of demonetisation, on Thursday.
While the Chairman of the panel Veerappa Moily said Patel will be called on another date as the panel decided to first hear the Finance Ministry officials, a section of the Opposition alleged that the Congress and the ruling BJP had reached a tacit understanding to help the RBI Governor.
The non-Congress Opposition MPs also alleged that Patel recused himself from attending the meeting citing that the process of withdrawal of notes is not yet over. Moily, however, denied this and said it was the panel’s decision to call him after hearing the Finance Ministry officials.
“We will hear economists and other experts on Thursday. The meeting with Patel was scheduled on Thursday afternoon. But, the committee decided that he can be called after hearing the views of the Finance Ministry,” Moily told BusinessLine. He added that the date of meeting with Patel has not been decided yet.
Another member from the Opposition, who did not wish to be identified, said the information they were given was that the RBI Governor had recused himself.
“We were told that he will now attend the panel on January 9. Some Congress members had given a suggestion that he could be summoned in the second week of January. We don’t know why the Congress wants to help the Centre and the RBI to evade Parliamentary scrutiny. There is a tacit understanding between the BJP and the Congress,” the member said.
The MPs were ready with a number of questions to the Governor.
Questions preparedThey wanted to ask what triggered the demonetisation decision, the RBI’s preparedness, the problems in providing banks and ATMs with new notes, and the action taken against corrupt bank officers who allegedly helped black money hoarders to launder their money.
“The government and the RBI is clearly not prepared to face the panel. That is why they are running away from the meeting,” another MP added.
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