NEW DELHI: Answering criticism over demonetisation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asserted in Lok Sabha that the timing for the decision was perfect as the economy was doing well and hit out at Congress whose record he questioned with regard to various issues.

Replying to a debate on Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address which was adopted by the House later amid walkout by Congress, he replied point-by-point to the issues raised by the Opposition, including surgical strikes and allocations for MNREGA, agriculture sector and for Scheduled Castes. Opposition had moved 190 amendments to the Motion which were negated.

In his 90-minute speech, which was punctuated by protests by some Opposition members at certain points, Modi also raised pitch for simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assemblies, asking all parties to consider the proposal, rising above political considerations as “everybody will face some difficulty” if it is implemented. On demonetisation over which he has been under sustained attack, the Prime Minister asserted that the timing of the decision announced on November 8 last year was perfect. “Some people have said why was this (demonetisation) decision taken when the economy was doing well…It was the best time for demonetisation as the economy was strong. Had the economy been weak, then we could not have done it successfully,” he said. In this regard, he gave the example of a patient who has to undergo a surgery. “Before subjecting a patient to surgery, a doctor checks all the parameters of the patient and only when those parameters are fine, is the operation done,” he said. He also emphasised that the decision was not taken in a haste as contended by some sections. “Don’t assume that Modi does anything in a haste. For that you will need to study Modi.” –PTI