TRS will stay away from Bharat Bandh on Monday

Satisfied with the assurances given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that one more round of income disclosure scheme was on the way and that the states which lost heavily due to the scrapping of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency notes would be compensated suitably, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), which is in power in Telangana, has decided to stay away from the Opposition’s Bharat Bandh on Monday.

That the TRS would not join the bandh call was conveyed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by party president and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) when he received the former at the Shamshabad airport on Friday night. After completing the formal receiving, the PM took the CM aside and chatted with him for 10 minutes on the post-notes scrapping situation in the state.

Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, too, was present, but he merely talked about the reports

of supply of new notes in the banks and ATMs. Most of the conversation took place between the PM and the CM, sources close to the CM said. KCR is understood to have explained to the PM that there was a severe shortage of smaller notes, especially Rs 100 and Rs 50 and people were unable to get change for new Rs 2,000 notes. Except the largest banker SBI and its associate, State Bank of Hyderabad, all other public and private banks were struggling to meet the cash demand from the public. The PM told KCR that already he has issued instructions to the finance ministry to supply enough new Rs 500 and Rs 100 notes and they must be reaching the states by next week.