Counterfeit money already?

The Indian government has also introduced a new 2,000 rupee ($30) banknote. The new notes, however, differ only in terms of design and there was simply no time to incorporate new security features, a senior official was quoted by the Hindu newspaper as saying.

In fact, the first case of forgery of the new 2,000 rupee note has already been reported in the state of Karnataka, where a flower merchant was allegedly duped with a fake banknote.

The government’s demonetization move represents a reversal of roles for the current ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress party. That’s because the last time India mulled such a move, it was in January 2014 and under the previous Congress-led administration.

The government then had announced that all currency notes issued before 2005 would be withdrawn by March 31 that year and must be exchanged for new notes with more safety features. But the BJP objected to it, terming it a “strongly anti-poor” move.

“The latest gimmick of finance ministry to demonetize the notes before 2005 is an attempt to obfuscate the issue of black money stashed outside the country. This measure is strongly anti-poor,” the BJP spokesperson, Meenakshi Lekhi, told media at Delhi.

Against this backdrop, opposition parties in the country have lambasted the Modi administration’s decision and are looking to form a united front to attack the government.

Still, there are others that say the move could pay off in the long run and help India tackle the menace of black money and tax evasion.