Note ban was organised loot, GST a nightmare: Manmohan in Gujarat

Describing the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government's demonetisation exercise as a reckless step, former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said scrapping higher value currency notes was organised loot and legalised plunder.

None its objectives were achieved, Singh said during an interactive session on the current state of the economy with businesspersons and traders.

"Demonetisation was organised loot and legalised plunder," he said during his visit to poll-bound Gujarat.

Hitting out at the government over the rollout of the goods and services tax, Singh said compliance requirements under GST had become a nightmare for small businesses.

He also criticised the Centre's ambitious Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project and dubbed it an exercise in vanity.

Singh's visit comes a day before Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is likely to tour Surat on the anniversary of the government's announcement of the demonetisation exercise.

Opposition parties are observing 'black day' on Wednesday.

Photograph: ANI