The Congress upped the ante on Friday, saying it would not permit Parliament to function till three of its stipulations were agreed to. Prime Minister Narendra Modi should himself explain on the floor of the House why demonetisation was pushed through without considering the cost of the disruptions it would cause in the daily lives of ordinary people; that the government accede to its demand both for a Joint Parliamentary Committee that would examine among other things what sort of deposits were made prior to the announcement and by whom, as well as for an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha.
Simultaneously, it strongly defended Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad’s statement that the number of people who had died because of demonetisation was larger than the number of soldiers who had been killed in Uri.
Shaky start The Congress made a shaky start on Wednesday, trying to assess the impact of Mr. Modi’s surprise announcement on November 8. But by Friday, as reports not just of inconvenience caused to people who are being forced to stand in queues, but of deaths caused by stress or suicide started coming in, the party was emboldened to go on the offensive inside the House, in informal briefings and at its official press conference. And on the streets, scores of Youth Congress workers held a march, alleging that the withdrawal of high-value notes is part of a “big scam” and aimed at loot of public money.
‘NDA is crumbling’ A Lok Sabha MP told The Hindu , “We are insisting on an adjournment motion under Rule 56 because the BJP-led NDA is crumbling: the Shiv Sena marched with Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee to Rashtrapati Bhavan on the demonetisation issue; the Shiromani Akali Dal that is facing elections early next year in Punjab will find it hard to defend this measure of the government.”
Meanwhile, at the Congress’s official briefing, the party’s communication chief, Randeep Surjewala, pointed out that 55 people had died standing in queues at banks and ATMs in the wake of demonetisation. Releasing a list of their names, he asked the Prime Minister to apologise to their families and compensate them monetarily for their loss. He also sought an investigation into the cause of these deaths.
‘Draconian decision’ “The draconian decision of a dictatorial Prime Minister has led to 55 deaths. Who is responsible for this? The PM should apologise to the families of those who lost their lives and also to the country,” he said.
Accusing the Prime Minister of “acting first and thinking later,” he alleged that the lack of proper planning had thrown the country into “financial anarchy and chaos —almost a financial emergency.” The lack of planning was evident in the way the government’s directions on demonetisation had been changed 18 times since the announcement was made by Mr. Modi 10 days ago.
‘Image building exercise’ The Prime Minister was on an “image building” exercise, he said, adding that now all those questioning the wisdom of the move were being dubbed as “anti-nationals.”
The Congress leader said the farm sector had been worst hit by demonetisation after the government unilaterally put an embargo on all cooperative banks, rural development banks, primary land development banks and cooperative credit societies from either changing old currencies or dispensing new notes.
“The Modi government summarily rejected the recommendations of its own Agriculture Ministry, which wanted farmers permitted to purchase seeds and fertilizers with old notes. Prime Minister Modi has paralysed the entire agricultural economy,” he said
‘Tax terrorism’ Mr. Surjewala also alleged that the Modi government had imposed “tax terrorism” across the country. The Income Tax department had “shut” the markets and was creating “fear psychosis” among traders and businessmen, with the small and medium sector industry “shattered.”
