CURRENCY CRISIS

As CPI-M set for Monday shutdown, Kerala CM's advisor praises demonetisation

021111_Gita_019.jpg Gita Gopinath [Image courtesy: Harvard.edu]

Kerala government and the ruling CPI-M find themselves in an embarrassing position on Saturday when Gita Gopinath, economic advisor to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan came up in support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetisation move. Gita's comment came at a time when the party is set to observe a day to night hartal on Monday against the Union government's economic policies.

Gopinath, a Harvard University professor, stated that the demonetisation was the boldest move of Prime Minister Narendra Modi till date. "It was an unprecedented move, whether in India or almost anywhere else, and it is by far Modi’s boldest policy intervention to date," she said.

“Modi’s policy intervention is bold, and the economic principles motivating it are beyond reproach. But a gradualist approach that includes the permanent withdrawal of large notes would have served the cause better, even if it did not generate the same “shock and awe” as the current policy. This will become more apparent as the large costs to the economy emerge over the next several months,” she said in an article titled Demonetization Dos and Don’ts.

As Gita's article sparked off a media debate in the state, the chief minister came up with an explanation saying there was noting unusual in her views on demonetisation.

“Gopinath was not a full-time advisor of the Kerala Chief Minister. So there is nothing unusual that she is taking a different stand from that of the government and expressing her own views," Vijayan said in a Facebook post.

He said "some people have taken some sentences from her article and making wrong interpretations". 

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Topics : #Demonetization

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