Demonetization a scam, will be probed: Kapil Sibal

New Delhi : Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Tuesday called demonetization the biggest scam in India's history since independence and said a thorough investigation will be done after the government changes.

Sibal was speaking at a joint press conference called by opposition leaders including Sharad Yadav (LJD), Manoj Jha (RJD) and Hemant Soren (JMM) besides other Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ahmed Patel.

"Demonetization is the biggest scam in the history of India since independence. It led many to commit suicide. The country has to decide who is the thief and who is the 'chowkidar' (watchman), who is a patriot and who is traitor," Sibal told the media.

"But who will decide this? Not the chowkidar. The people will judge and decide. And when the government changes, we will investigate it," he said.

Sibal also showed an 18-minute video clip of a man who exchanged demonetized currency worth Rs 5 crore at 40 per cent commission against legal tender of Rs 3 crore in Rs 2,000 notes with the help of a BJP worker in Ahmedabad.

The man in the video claimed that he was among a group of journalists who wanted to unravel truth of the 2016 note ban and that he did not belong to any political party.

Asked about the authenticity of the video and where it was found, Sibal said: "We found it on TNN.World website and downloaded it. We have shown it to you. But how will we check its authenticity?"

Sibal said the newspapers and the magazines seen in the video revealed that the money was exchanged probably in January or February 2017.

"The video showed a transaction taking place after December 31, 2016 when the exchange of demonetized currency was stopped. This reveals how money was misused during demonetization," he said.

Azad said there was no any evidence of the damage done by demonetization soon after but now there was evidence -- as shown in the tape.