More than a week has passed since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced his big-bang strike on black money by banning notes of higher denominations. The aam aadmi had wholeheartedly welcomed the idea initially, but with hardships and inconvenience increasing, people are questioning if there was proper planning before the announcement of this watershed move. The informal sectors have been hit the worse - local shopkeepers, vegetable vendors, small farmers, landless labourers and those working on construction sites. With the cash crunch affecting the economy, will the government show the same alacrity in ensuring that money reaches those who live on the margins of the society? Because if the ground situation doesn't improve, the move might politically backfire for the BJP and political parties like the Aaam Aadmi Party, the Trinomool Congress, the Samajwadi Party are leaving no stone unturned in criticising the government for its frailties in executing the plan. The experts on both side of the political divide are unanimous on one thing - this grand move has to be followed by a crackdown on corruption, more tax reforms and bringing in regulation in the real estate sector. Will the government tread this uncharted waters and walk the talk? Or a year or two from now, people will remember the hardships that they faced the cash crunch that made them anxious with little or no benefit that accrued from this move? Will this go down in history as the big-bang move that will rid India of its black money or will it turn out to be a damp squib?
