Jan Dhan Yojana a ‘jumla’ by Modi govt: Chidambaram

NEW DELHI: Hitting out at Modi government, Congress leader P Chidambaram said on Thursday that Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) was a ‘jumla' and “an exercise in self-deception” by the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Former Finance Minister also alleged that the accounts were used to launder money after demonetisation.

Addressing a press conference, Chidambaram said that financial inclusion did not begin with the Jan Dhan Yojana as Prime Minister Modi “would like us to believe.”

The former Finance Minister said that the UPA government sowed the idea of financial inclusion and the RBI introduced the Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account (BSBDA) which was also called the “no frills account” or “zero balance account”.

“Until May 2014, 25 crore BSBD accounts had been opened and the average citizen began to enjoy the advantages of modern banking. Simultaneously, the Aadhaar programme was rolled out and 65 crore Aadhaar numbers were issued by May 2014,” he said.

He said that the BSBDA and Aadhaar were “historic achievements” and were possible because Congress-led government created a financial architecture, including National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), Universal Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the Npcilaunched Immediate Payment System (IMPS), BSBDA and NPCI -- launched Rupay card.

He said 12,748 rural branches and 3,03,504 rural banking correspondents (BCS) were appointed during 20102014 while only 4,679 rural branches and 1,77,639 BCS were appointed during the first four years of Modi government.

“Under the NDA, the BSBDA scheme was renamed the Jan Dhan Yojana. Instead of pursuing genuine financial inclusion, the NDA government's aim appears to grab headlines,” he alleged.