Even after saying all this, the RBI board approved Modi’s idea. There are obvious reasons for trying to keep such kneeling secret. She had done her job pointing out the flaws in the plan and now she was saving Modi. This is why Urjit Patel did not do so on the pretext of national security when Right to Information activists sought the minutes of the RBI meeting shortly before demonetisation was announced.
Of course, events proved that in any case the RBI predicted the pros and cons of demonetisation quite accurately. What the RBI was hiding was the fact that Modi had ignored her concerns, though they all turned out to be correct later.
In India, the unorganized sector (including agriculture) accounts for about half of the total economy and operates almost entirely on cash. One can only imagine the impact this had on the poor of the region and India. There was no preparation for this on Modi’s part. The government cabinet itself was not aware of this decision until a few minutes before the announcement, therefore no minister or ministers had made any preparations.
,“Modi Years Award” ‘, excerpted by permission of Vintage Books)