New Delhi, Nov 9 (PTI) Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Monday took a swipe at the BJP, saying if demonetisation had slayed the demons of black money and corruption, how did the saffron party spend crores for "purchasing" MLAs in several states.

His remarks came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the fourth anniversary of demonetisation, said the move helped reduce black money and gave a boost to transparency.

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On November 8, 2016, Prime Minister Modi announced the decision to ban all currency notes of higher denomination of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 from midnight.

"According to PM, demonetization slayed the demons of corruption and black money. What is the colour of the crores of rupees spent by the BJP in purchasing MLAs in several states?" the former Union finance minister said.

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Chidambaram also said, "On the day when Mr Biden called for an end to demonization, Mr Modi celebrated Demonetization."

Pledging to be the president of all Americans, Joe Biden has sought an immediate end to the "grim era of demonisation" in the deeply-polarised nation, as he and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris celebrated their historic triumph over Donald Trump in a bitter and closely-fought presidential election.

The Congress has been attacking the prime minister on his decision of demonetisation by alleging that it destroyed India's economy and did not yield any results as no black money was unearthed, the government has dismissed the charge repeatedly.

"CEA said that non-profit and non-corporate entities (tax evaders) deposited 16.2 per cent of the total cash returned after demonetization. He should also tell us how much of that amount was confiscated as black money? We know the answer: ZERO,"he said in a series of tweets.

The Congress also observed Sunday, the anniversary of demonetisation, as "Vishwaasghaat Diwas" (betrayal day) and ran a social media campaign against the move.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)