Nitish questions benefits of note ban, gets mocked by Tejashwi

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Sunday mocked Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, saying the latter had supported demonetisation but was now questioning it, and soon he will describe demonetisation as the biggest scam of India.

A day after Nitish Kumar questioned the benefits of the much-hyped demonetisation move to the common people and slammed banks that allegedly helped the rich and powerful to manage their cash following the central government's November 8, 2016 move, Tejashwi Yadav, the Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, said: "Our beloved Nitish Chacha took another sharp U-turn."

Tejashwi Yadav, the former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister tweeted: "He (Nitish) supported demonetisation but is now questioning it. He is always years behind in understanding the issues, difficulties and demands of common people. Don't be surprised if he calls demonetisation the biggest scam of India."

Nitish Kumar on Saturday surprised not only his ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders here but his own party leaders when he questioned the benefits of demonetisation, reports IANS.

"I was supporter of demonetisation... but how many people benefited from it? Some powerful people shifted their cash from one place to another," the Bihar Chief Minister said at a meeting with bank officials here.

It is for the first time that Nitish Kumar, who is also the president of the Janata DalUnited (JD-U) – a BJP ally – has questioned the demonetisation move of the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.