Cong slams PM in RS over demonetisation, says ‘people are suffering’

New Delhi:  Congress lashed out heavily at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes. Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said, “the rule was implemented without any prior notice and that the whole nation is suffering due to the same”.

He also questioned PM over the same saying, “which law gave him a right to stop people from withdrawing money from their own accounts inspite of having money in the account?”

Sharma also raised the topic of Indian black money in Swiss accounts saying, “government has the list of Swiss bank account holders”. He demanded that” government must release the names which are mentioned in that list”.

He also said that,”an atmosphere has been created by Government, where questioning the Government has become the parameter to decide one’s nationalism”. He thereafter sought an apology from PM for “mocking people for standing in queues in Goa”.

With frustration over the cash crunch mounting, Parliament looks set to witness a firestorm of protest on the issue of demonetisation when it meets for the winter session, with a joint opposition having readied itself to put the government on the mat.

Though Mamata Banerjee’s TMC failed to build a consensus on her party’s proposed to march to Rashtrapati Bhawan tomorrow itself to protest demonetisation of high-value currency notes, 13 parties led by main opposition Congress resolved to vigorously raise the issue of hardship faced by the common people due to the exercise aimed at squeezing out black money from the system.

As ATMs struggled in disgorging cash and banks appeared crumbling under pressure due to demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 bills, a Congress-led opposition went into a huddle to devise ways to pin down the government on the issue.

At a meeting of 13 opposition parties including arch rivals TMC and CPI-M, besides BSP, SP, JD-U and DMK, opposition leaders unanimously concluded that it was too early to visit the President on the issue which must first be raised adequately in parliamentary forums.

An all-party meeting, which was also attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saw him seek the opposition’s cooperation for demonetisation exercise aimed at tackling black money, counterfeit currency notes and terror funding, but his unrelenting rivals picked holes in it and accused him of not adhering to the principle of confidentiality and leaking information about the impending action.

Leader of the Congress in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, however, made it clear after the all-party meeting that his party was not in favour of a roll back of demonetisation.

“It is a big scam, perhaps the biggest. There was selective leak of information, many in the BJP and even others knew about it (demonetisation) beforehand. We will raise the issue in Parliament….There should be an inquiry…who should hold the iquiry should be decided.

“Some say this is an economic surgical strike before the elections (in some states including UP) aimed at finishing rivals and saving the ruling party (BJP),” Azad said after the meeting.

About Mamata Banerjee deciding to go ahead with her proposed march to Rashtrapati Bhawan, Azad said, she had sought an appointment with the President as a Chief Minister.

“She is within her right to go to the President alone, but when we go to him together, TMC will be a part of it.”

“We have been against black money, we are against black money and we shall be against black money. We have been criticising the government for its failure to bring back black money stashed abroad. But today, people are dying while standing in queues, workers; farmers have no money to pay their bills at hospitals. People from Kashmir to Kanya Kumari are harassed,” he said.