Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saved RBI Governor Urjit Patel on Wednesday from the possible grilling by a parliamentary committee over the demonetisation issue.
While Patel was struggling with the tough questions by MPs, Singh intervened and said that the central bank and the Governor’s position as an institution should be respected.
Speaking to the Parliamentary panel after demonetisation, Urjit Patel said Rs 9.2 lakh crore of new currency notes have been put into the system since November 8.
The Parliamentary committee, headed by Congress MP Veerappa Moily, had called on Patel to brief about the impact of demonetisation on country’s economy and the step taken by RBI to deal with the cash crunch.
Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das, Banking Secretary Anjuly Chib Duggal and Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia, Chanda Kochhar of the ICICI Bank and Usha Ananthasubramanian of the Punjab National Bank were also present at the briefing, Business Today reported.
Patel is also scheduled to appear before the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament on January 20.
Trinamool Congress MP told media that Patel was very defensive and he was unable to tell how much money returned to the banks.
