KOTA: A Congress MLA has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding that Mahatma Gandhi’s portrait should be removed from Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 currency notes as they are being used in cases of corruption and in bars.
Drawing attention to cases of corruption in Rajasthan, Bharat Singh Kundanpur, the MLA from the ruling party in the state, said a total 616 graft cases were registered between January 2019 and December 31, 2020, with an average of two cases registered per day.
In a letter sent to Modi on the 152nd birth anniversary of Gandhi on October 2, he urged the prime minister to replace Gandhi’s portrait on high value currency notes with a picture of his iconic spectacles.
The Sangod MLA said Gandhi’s portrait should be retained only on the notes in the denominations of Rs 5, Rs 10, Rs 50, Rs 100 and Rs 200 as they are widely used by the poor and Gandhi throughout his life worked for the destitute.
“It is my suggestion that a picture of Gandhi’s spectacles can be used on Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 currency notes. Ashok Chakra can also work effectively for this purpose,” Kundanpur said in the letter.