Arvind Subramanian should have resigned in the face of demonetization: Rahul Gandhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's attack on demonetization, Congressman Rahul Gandhi said Thursday that former chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian had moved away from the decision to sell high-value notes,

In a tweet, Gandhi said the demonetization, like the Rafale deal, was "a crime against India" and pointed out that the former minister of Defense Manohar Parrikar had distanced himself from the deal to buy combat aircraft to "save his skin".

"A demo (demonetisation) like Rafale was a crime against India and a huge scam, Parrikar took his distance from Rafale to save his skin, Subramanian did the same with Demo, and I wonder why he did not resign while he disagreed.Do not worry about India, the culprits will be investigated and will be punished, "said Mr. Gandhi.

Arvind Subramanian kept silent about the demonetization until he was chief advisor to the Union Finance Ministry. Six months after his resignation, he had described the ban as a "mbadive and draconian monetary shock" that had accelerated the economic process. slide to 6.8 per cent in the seven quarters following the decision, compared to the 8 per cent recorded prior to the decision.

He said he did not have a strongly defended empirical view, apart from the fact that welfare costs, particularly the informal sector, were considerable.

Arvind Subramanian presented his views in his forthcoming book "Of Counsel: The Challenges of the Modi-Jaitley Economy".