Presidential poll effect? Govt accepts Uddhav’s demand, allows RBI to accept demonetised currency from DCCBs

New Delhi: Months after Government’s move to demonetise old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, the government on Tuesday allowed the RBI to accept demonetised notes received by the District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) during November 10-14 last year. It is interesting to note that the notification comes on a day when the Shiv Sena announced the endorsement of NDA Presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind. The party had last week demanded that the over Rs 2,270 crore lying with the DCCBs be accepted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The notification says the DCCBs can deposit the demonetised notes, collected during the five-day period after demonetisation was announced on November 8, 2016, with the RBI within 30 days from Tuesday. The DCCBs had been barred from accepting the old notes after November 14. The notification also allows banks and post offices which had collected demonetised currency prior to December 30, 2016 to deposit them with the RBI. The deposits can be made under Specified Bank Notes (Deposits by Banks, Post Offices and District Central Cooperative Banks) Rules, 2017. Officials said the deposits would be taken in pursuance to an assurance given to the Supreme Court by the government that proper verification of each account would be done before any decision is taken. Such verification was done between January and May this year and it was found that the accounts complied with the KYC norms. Last week, Maharashtra Minister Dilip Raote had demanded that the government should allow the RBI to accept the Rs 2,271 crore lying with the DCCBs. BJP ally Shiv Sena, which had been sulking over various issues and had demanded that RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat or eminent agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan be declared the Presidential candidate, declared its support to the NDA nominee on Tuesday evening. On Monday, Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had slammed the move to field Kovind, saying it was meant to appease caste sentiments. But the party made a U-turn on Tuesday.