Following the Reserve Bank of India’s figures on demonetisation, the Opposition launched a stinging attack on the Centre with the Congress demanding an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the CPI(M) saying that India will not forgive the government for its “anti-national act”.
“Demonetisation is nothing but a disaster in which 104 innocent people were killed while ‘corrupt’ made ‘windfall gains’. Demonetisation Scam not only dented institutional sanctity of RBI, but also credibility of India abroad. PM should apologise to the nation,” Congress media in-charge Randeep Surjewala said in a series of tweets.
Former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said the economists who recommended demonetisation deserved a “Nobel Prize”. “99% notes legally exchanged! Was demonetisation a scheme designed to convert black money into white? Rs. 16,000 cr out of demonetised notes of Rs 1544,000 cr did not come back to RBI. That is 1%. Shame on RBI which ‘recommended’ demonetisation,” Mr. Chidambaram said in a series of tweets.
Big failure
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury questioned the need for such an exercise when it failed in all its stated objectives: combating corruption, black money, counterfeit currency and terrorism. “99.9% of the notes back in the banking system. 100s died in queues. The poor suffered the most. All this for what?” he asked.
Mr. Yechury said: “Lives & livelihoods lost, the Economy got a shock, workers lost their jobs. India can never forgive Modi govt for this anti-national act.”
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the RBI’s revelation pointed at a “big scam.” “Demonetisation was supposedly done to uncover several lakhs of crores of black money. And now what we have got is a big, big zero!”she wrote on Facebook.
