Pivithuru Hela Urumaya General Secretary Udaya Gammanpila praised Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetization of higher valued bank notes, and said that Sri Lanka should also demonetize Rs 5000 notes to curb use of black money.

Speaking at a press conference today, he said that such a step would also reveal as to who really has stocks of hidden money with them.

Furthermore, Gammanpila pointed out that Sri Lanka carried out such a step in 1973 when Dr. N.M. Perera was the Finance Minister. The then highest valued bank note, Rs 100, was demonetized, which brought a large amount of cash to circulation, Gammanpila said.

Gammanpila added that the government should also create a mechanism by which large deals in gold, jems and other valuables are recorded, since wealth is also stored in these items.