Days after the seventh anniversary of demonetization, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav attended pre-birthday celebrations of ‘Khazanchi’ who was born while his mother was standing in a bank queue following the Centre’s surprise move to ban currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000.
Yadav, who was the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh from 2012-2017, on Saturday attended the celebrations at the Samajwadi Party’s office in Lucknow with his party leaders.
In a video shared by news agency ANI, Khazanchi and his mother can be seen standing next to the SP chief while the song “Happy Birthday to You” was playing in the background with other leaders cheering the birthday boy.
#WATCH | Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow celebrates the birthday of ‘Khazanchi’ who was born while his mother was standing in a bank queue following demonetisation pic.twitter.com/3cixqK2Gnj
---Advertisement---— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) November 11, 2023
During the celebrations, the former CM also offered a box of treats to the boy, who politely declined it.
Khazanchi-Akhilesh Yadav Bonhomie
Khazanchi Nath, better known as ‘demonetization baby’, was born on December 2, 2016, when his mother was standing in one of the long queues that swathed banks across India following demonetization.
The relationship between the former UP chief minister and Khazanchi goes a long way back. They first made headlines with a picture, which featured the boy in Yadav’s arms.
After his birth, the SP chief took the responsibility of bearing the expenses of Khazanchi studies. He even granted Rs 2 lakh in assistance to the child’s family.
On his first birthday, Yadav took to Twitter, now known as X, and wrote, “Khazanchi born in a bank queue during demonetization, has turned one year old, but his family’s account is still empty. They are still standing in the queue of false hopes of bringing back the black money. Those poor innocent people don’t even know what is called a political phrase.”
In 2021, Khazanchi, who was then four years old, flagged off Samajwadi Party’s Vijay Yatra for 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
What is Demonetisation?
On the night of November 8, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise address to the nation and announced the ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, which were the two highest denominations of currency at that time.
The objectives of demonetization were to curb black money, eliminate counterfeit currency, and promote a shift towards a cashless economy.
