The jumla controversy had played out during Bihar elections, which BJP lost.The Modi government has taken several measures targeting black money, including the setting up of a special investigation team in its very first cabinet meeting in 2014. Subsequently, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has piloted certain legislative measures and most recently, presided over an income-disclosure scheme to incentivise declaration of black money.The PM, in his televised address to the nation, referred to these measures to make the point that approximately Rs 1.25 lakh crore of black money has been unearthed. Modi’s announcement, BJP leaders said, has demonstrated that he’s prepared to go further to keep his promise.OPPN CALLS MOVE DISRUPTIVE Opposition parties roundly criticised the PM’s announcement, with most arguing it was a disruptive measure that will hurt ordinary citizens.Amove like this has been talked about within BJP but few expected it to materialise. The meeting was attended by Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, along with former finance minister Yashwant Sinha.Those making the presentation suggested demonetising higher currency notes to tackle black money and institute flat transaction tax to simplify the economic transaction. The proposal was found to be too radical by BJP then.BJP leaders said Modi’s decision shows he’s a PM “unafraid” of big, bold ideas.

Source: Economic Times November 08, 2016 19:24 UTC