Jan Dhan was jumla, accounts laundered money: Chidambaram
NEWDELHI: Former Union finance minister P Chidambaram on Thursday said that the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) was a “jumla” (false promise) and “an exercise in selfdeception” by the Modi government. He alleged that the accounts were used to launder money after demonetisation.
“It is now common knowledge that the Jan Dhan accounts were used to launder money after demonetisation. A humongous sum of ~42,187 crore was deposited in Jan Dhan accounts between November 8, 2016 and December 30, 2016,” he told a press conference.
“When the NDA speaks of Jan Dhan accounts, it ignores the 250 million accounts created before 2014. Jan Dhan Yojana is another ‘jumla’ and an exercise in mass deception by Modi and the NDA government,” he said.
The Congress leader said 61 million Jan Dhan accounts were “inactive” and 33% of accounts were opened by people who already had an account in their names. The increase in the number of accounts has not translated into greater flow of credit to the rural population, he added.
Chidambaram said finance minister Arun Jaitley initially threatened legal action over such laundering, but the finance secretary ruled out any probe on the grounds it would be a “time consuming” process.
“United Bank of India alone had 11,80,000 Jan Dhan accounts with over ~1 lakh so-called savings,” he said.
Chidambaram also alleged that banks have converted Jan Dhan accounts into regular savings accounts and are charging exorbitant fees for any failure to maintain a minimum balance.
He said the government has failed to disclose how many Jan Dhan account holders have got the insurance promised them as part of the scgeme, after an accident or death.
The Congress leader said financial inclusion did not begin with the Jan Dhan Yojana as Prime Minister Narendra Modi “would like us to believe”.