'Note ban should have done in 1971' says Narendra Modi while slamming Congress

Prime Minister Narendra Modi lashed out at Congress for not taking effective measures to curb black money in the country. "We needed to do it in 1971. We have caused huge losses by not doing this since 1971," Modi told BJP MPs.

Narendra Modi also quoted former bureaucrat Madhav Godbole's book in which he has recorded how then Home Minister YB Chavan had recommended demonetisation to curb ill-gotten and hidden wealth.

"Godbole says in the book that Gandhi replied saying 'are no more elections to be fought by the Congress'? Chavan got the message and the recommendation was (dropped)," Modi said.

"This was in 1971 when everybody recommended this. Had it (demonetisation) been done in 1971, the nation wouldn't have been in this situation today."

Modi's remarks came during a BJP parliamentary party meeting on the last day of the winter session.

 Modi further targeted Congress by saying that Congress has always put its interest over that of the country while for the BJP the nation's interests are supreme.

To remove corruption and black money from the society Modi again pitched for the digital economy as he made an appeal to the masses to adopt digital economy as a 'way of life.'

While criticizing Congress Modi also attacked former Prime minister Manmohan Singh saying that he advocated strong measures against corruption and black money but did nothing during his rule of 10 years.

 Manmohan Singh has been openly criticizing demonetisation from the start; he said that  "I don't think demonetisation was at all required, I don't think it was technically, economically necessary to launch this adventure," in 2016