Amarnath Yatra
An Indian security force personnel (R) checks the bag of a man near a base camp of Hindu pilgrimage to the cave of Amarnath after seven Hindu pilgrims were killed in a gunbattle between Indian police and militants on Monday, in Langanbal village in south Kashmir's Anantnag district July 11, 2017.Reuters

On November 8 last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had claimed that his demonetisation move was a lethal strike against the terrorists as their funding will get dried up because of this. Eight months since then, the home ministry officials have faced the question: How much successful has demonetisation been in curbing the evil of terrorism – cross-border or domestic? And none other than a BJP parliamentarian has raised it, according to a report in Anandabazaar Patrika.

On Thursday, July 13, the home ministry officials were called by a parliamentary committee and there, the effect of demonetisation on curbing the Maoist menace was questioned by the BJP MP from Jharkhand, the report added. The Opposition has also questioned how much successful has demonetisation been in limiting the effect of terrorism, especially in the wake of the dastardly attack on Amarnath pilgrims in Anantnag in Jammu & Kashmir earlier this week.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivers his address at the Chartered Accountants' Day celebrations at IGI stadium in Delhi on July 1, 2017. [Representational Image]Press Information Bureau

The Opposition has also raised the issue of digital economy – something the Modi government has been promoting throughout, asking how much secure is the cyber space, especially in the wake of the repeated malware attacks, the report added.

The issue of bitcoins was also raised but neither the finance ministry nor the Reserve Bank of India could give any definite explanation on any policy undertaken on bitcoins, often called the alternative currency. The use of bitcoins has increased in the wake of demonetisation and talks are on to bring them under the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the report added.