Opposition parties buried their differences on Monday and decided to take on the government unitedly on the demonetisation issue, both inside and outside Parliament.
As a result, Parliament was disrupted once again over the issue of scrapping Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes.
Opposition MPs questioned various aspects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dramatic decision on November 8 and its fallout on the poor and vulnerable.
They said they would not permit Parliament to function till their demand for a JPC probe and an adjournment motion was conceded.
Seeks probe into recent deposits
Ten political parties – the Congress, the Trinamool, the Janata Dal (United), the Bahujan Samaj Party, the CPI(M), the CPI, the Nationalist Congress Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam – met on Monday morning, ahead of the Parliament session to forge a common plan of action for an attack on the government.
At the meeting that was attended by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, it was decided to continue to press for an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha and a debate under a rule which entails voting.
Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee, who has been the most vociferous on the demonetisation issue, will address a rally in Lucknow on November 29, followed by rallies in Patna and Punjab. She is hoping to galvanise the Opposition into taking a much stronger stand against the Modi government. The Lok Sabha could not function for the third straight working day as the Opposition insisted on an adjournment motion. The Rajya Sabha saw a day-long inconclusive debate on the opening day, but has failed to transact any business since.