A. Manju, Minister for Sericulture and Animal Husbandry, and Hassan District Congress Committee president B. Shivaram on Monday demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the nation for his “failed demonetisation policy”.
They were addressing a joint press conference here. Mr. Manju, who is also the Minister in charge of Hassan, said demonetisation had helped only the rich, leaving the poor to stand in queue for hours and suffer. “We were expecting the PM to announce some relief for those suffered for the past 50 days. But he disappointed all of us. The Union government should credit at least ₹20,000 each to all the BPL families for their suffering,” he said.
Mr. Shivaram said the PM’s speech on December 31 was a flop. He said citizens had expected him to give a report on demonetisation in his speech. “The Congress is demanding a white paper on demonetisation and relief for the affected. The Prime Minister did not bother to acknowledge the deaths caused by his policy. More than 100 people have died struggling for cash,” he said.
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The Congress has decided to hold nationwide protests against the PM’s policies on January 7 and 9. M. Vishwanathan, fformer Lok Sabha member from Tamil Nadu, has been appointed an observer to oversee the protests in Hassan, Chikkamagaluru and Shivamogga districts. Mr. Vishwanathan said, “The party will stage a dharna in front of the offices of all district collectors across the country on January 7. Workers of the party’s women’s wing will stage a protest on January 9.”
S.M. Anand, former MLC, was among those present.