Bhubaneswar: Terming demonetisation of Rs 500 and 1,000 currency notes in 2016 as an ‘organised loot’, the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) Thursday said it would stage a protest before the RBI office here Friday as part of its nation-wide stir on the second anniversary of the note ban.
PCC president Niranjan Patnaik alleged the BJP government at the Centre has ruined the economy of the country through demonetisation.
“This was one of the most arbitrary and uncalled for decision taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who in his midnight operation declared to withdraw Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination notes from the economy. This was aimed at curtailing shadow economy and reducing the use of illicit and counterfeit case funds, illegal activities and terrorism. But where is that black money as demanded by Modi? Patnaik asked. He said the announcement of demonetisation was followed by prolonged cash crunch in the weeks that followed, which created significant disruption in the economy.
“The ill-conceived idea of demonetisation was clearly aimed at oraganised loot and legalised plunder. That’s why, days before demonetisation the BJP used cash to buy land across India including 18 districts of Odisha,” he tweeted. Stating that 70 per cent of rural Odisha does not have access to internet, he said the PM did not care at all how the idea is going to affect the life of such large populace. The decision of demonetisation was taken in a hurry and this had failed to eliminate black money from the economy. Modi must seek apology from the people for this wrongful decision, the PCC president stated.
However, BJP spokesperson Golak Mohapatra said the Congress is jealous with the achievements made by the Union government. “The BJP government has achieved success in ‘ease of doing business’, bringing down inflation and in other fields as well. The protest by Congress is a political drama as the general elections are getting closer,” he said.
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