The first anniversary of the Union government’s demonetisation of high value currency saw the BJP and the Opposition go head to head on whether the move was a “decisive battle” against black money as described by Prime Minister Narendra Modi or a “tragedy” as characterised by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.
The BJP celebrated the day as Anti-Black Money Day , a blow against corruption, while the Opposition said it was a plain “black day,” the anniversary of an erroneous economic measure.
Prime Minister Modi led the charge on behalf of his government to celebrate the demonetisation exercise. More than a dozen Union Ministers fanned out across the country to hold pressers putting their point across. Party leaders, including BJP president Amit Shah, took part in signature campaigns urging the government to end black money and corruption.
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‘A battle won’
In a series of tweets, the Prime Minister thanked the people for supporting the measures taken by the government against corruption and black money. “125 crore Indians fought a decisive battle and won,” tweeted the Prime Minister. “I bow to the people of India for steadfastly supporting the several measures taken by the government to eradicate black money and corruption.”
He posted a film enumerating the benefits that had accrued in terms of transparency in financial matters on his twitter timeline, as well as a questionnaire on his personal app, the Namo app, for feedback from the general public on the impact of demonetisation and the government’s efforts to “uproot black money.”
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Shah attacks Rahul
Mr. Shah attacked Mr. Gandhi for terming demonetisation a “tragedy” in an article for the business daily Financial Times of London.
He accused him of “manufacturing tragedies” and the Congress of being the “biggest source of fake news in India.” “Unable to digest the popularity of Shri Narendra Modi, Congress’s dirty tricks department is in hyper active mode. But 125 crore Indians know these carriers of fake news and have time and again rejected their fake news and fake tears,” he said from Gujarat.
The article was not the only blow Mr. Gandhi struck against the government on demonetisation and its impact on the economy. In a series of tweets he said, “Demonetisation is a tragedy. We stand with millions of honest Indians, whose lives and livelihoods were destroyed by PM’s thoughtless act.”
The Congress, which described the note ban as the “biggest scam” and “the largest government-abetted money laundering scheme,” had asked all its State units to organise protests.
The Congress was joined in its opposition by the BJP’s bickering ally, the Shiv Sena, which conducted the piacular rites of the decision to demonetise.
The six Left parties jointly held a protest in Delhi, lashing out at the government. “Exactly what are they celebrating today? They are celebrating misery and joblessness in India. They are celebrating the death of people who were forced to stand interminably in queues and others who continue to die with no jobs,” said CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat at the rally.
The parties that were the first to protest the move to demonetise last year, the Trinamool Congress, turned display pictures of all its social media accounts black.
A scam, says Mamata
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee termed demonetisation a “scam” in a hard-hitting Facebook post. “Demonetisation was not to combat black money. It was only to convert black money into white money for vested interests of the political party in power,” she wrote. “In a practical sense, it yielded a big, big zero.”