'I don’t know', says Arun Jaitley over 97 per cent banned notes back in banks

New Delhi : After a report claimed that 97 per cent of the banned currency notes has been deposited back in bank, there was no delay in finding reactions that the whole demonetisation drive has failed drastically.

But, before getting into any conclusion it is always better to cross check it with the specialists. And who is better than Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to confirm the report.

NDTV quoted his answer as 'I don’t know' over the question if the estimate is correct. The Reserve Bank of India said today that it is still collating and verifying information.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8 had announced that that the high-denomination notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 would be illegal from midnight, also allowing people to deposit them in bank before December 30, 2016.

On December 14, the RBI said that about 12.5 lakh crores had been deposited. "Now that the Scheme has come to an end on December 30, 2016, these figures would need to be reconciled with the physical cash balances to eliminate accounting errors/ possible double counts etc. RBI has already initiated this process and till this is completed any estimate may not indicate the actual numbers of the SBNs (Specified Bank Notes) that have been returned," the central bank said in a statement.