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# Congress says demonetisation hurt economy on 10th anniversary, slams PM Modi
- URL: https://newsanek.com/congress-notebandi-votebandi-ten-years-demonetisation/
- Published: 2026-11-09T03:32:11.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-09T04:20:17.000Z
- Description: On the 10th anniversary of demonetisation, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the 2016 move hurt the economy. He also said "votebandi" is damaging the country's politics.
- Author: Kumar Ujjwal
- Tags: Politics, #sub-politics, #sub-money-finance, #trending, #trending-in, #sm-52, #smemo-outrage

On Sunday, the 10th anniversary of demonetisation, the Congress attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the decision.

Jairam Ramesh, the party's general secretary in-charge of communications, made the point in a post on X.

"Notebandi devastated the economy," he said. "Votebandi is destroying the polity. Both are the contributions of the PM."

Ramesh shared a media report that called demonetisation a disaster in 2016 and a resounding failure ten years later.

The Congress has criticised the move on its anniversaries.

So what exactly happened in 2016? On 8 November 2016, Modi announced that Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes would be withdrawn.

That made about 86 per cent of the cash in circulation invalid.

### Key points

- Congress says demonetisation hurt the economy and calls "votebandi" a threat to the polity.
- On 8 November 2016, Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes were withdrawn, about 86 per cent of cash in circulation.
- A new analysis finds over 99.3 per cent of those notes returned to the banking system.
- Cash use stayed broadly stable at about 12 per cent of the economy.

## What did the government want to achieve?

The government said the move would end black money, fake currency and terror financing. These were the main goals.

Before the move, some supporters estimated that 3 lakh crore to 5 lakh crore rupees would never return to banks.

That is about 20 to 30 per cent of the cash held by the public.

One lakh crore means 1,00,000 crore rupees.

So that was a very large amount of money that many expected would stay out of the system.

## So did India really become less dependent on cash?

The new analysis says that did not happen in a big way.

Cash use, measured against the size of the economy, stayed around 12 per cent.

The Rs 500 note now makes up 85.5 per cent of all notes in circulation.

Demonetisation in key numbers

**86 per cent**Cash in circulation made invalid

**Rs 3-5 lakh crore**Money expected not to return

**12 per cent**Cash use against economy size

**85.5 per cent**Rs 500 notes in circulation

Graphic: News Anek, from the facts in this report

Digital payments grew fast around the same time, especially through UPI.

The analysis also says the Covid-19 pandemic and the spread of smartphones played a big role in that growth.

## What does this mean for you?

For many people, the biggest change is in how they pay. UPI has become a common way to pay for daily needs.

The debate continues, with the Congress and the government holding different views on the decision.

Readers can judge the facts for themselves.

---

### Sources

- [Mid-Day: Congress targets PM Modi over demonetisation, says 'Notebandi' hurt economy and 'Votebandi' polity](https://www.mid-day.com/news/india-news/article/congress-targets-pm-modi-over-demonetisation-says-notebandi-hurt-economy-and-votebandi-polity-23659119?ref=newsanek.com)
- [National Herald: 'Notebandi' destroyed economy, 'votebandi' destroying polity: Cong on 10 yrs of demonetisation](https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/national/notebandi-devastated-economy-votebandi-destroying-polity-cong-on-10th-demonetisation-anniversary?ref=newsanek.com)
- [Northeast Now: Demonetisation devastated economy, ‘votebandi’ destroying polity: Congress targets PM Modi](https://nenow.in/national/demonetisation-devastated-economy-votebandi-destroying-polity-congress-targets-pm-modi.html?ref=newsanek.com)