“If I am allowed to speak in the Lok Sabha, I will expose everything … that PayTM is actually Pay to Modi,” Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said on Thursday, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of having links with some corporates.
A month after the government’s demonetisation exercise began , Mr. Gandhi and the Trinamool Congress launched a fresh offensive against the Modi government, as a united Opposition observed black day.
“Lay-offs are happening, farmers are dying because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s financial expertise. It’s not a bold decision, it’s foolish,” Mr. Gandhi stressed, adding that the government and the Speaker shared the joint responsibility of running the House.
“We want a vote [following a debate] because people from the BJP will vote with us on demonetisation.”
“The idea behind a cashless economy is that a few people will get maximum benefits from these transactions. This has damaged the nation. He [PM Modi] is laughing, having a nice time while the people of the country are suffering,” Mr. Gandhi continued.
Apart from the Congress and the Trinamool, other parties that participated in the black day protests, standing in front of Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in the Parliament House precincts included the CPI(M), CPI, Janata Dal (United) and Samajwadi Party, with all the protesters sporting black bands on their arms and holding up placards against the government.
But despite the show of unity in the Opposition, some cracks in the manner of taking on the government appeared.
While the Trinamool Congress is determined not to allow Parliament to function, other Opposition parties, including the Congress now want a debate, though all agreed that it should be under a rule that allows voting. They feel their message is not getting through, said Congress sources.
Comparison with Nero
Meanwhile, in the wake of the demonetisation announcement that has imposed “great hardships”, the Congress also compared the Prime Minister to Roman Emperor Nero who fiddled while Rome burned.
“As the story goes, in the time of a crisis, the Roman Emperor was busy playing the violin. He was both whimsical and ineffectual when Rome needed him the most….,” the Congress said in a statement placed on its website.
