Lucknow: Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of shying away from Parliament, Congress leader Kapil Sibal today said "desh ka chowkidar" was taking a peaceful nap while the poor were having sleepless nights.
"The Prime minister who had made an entrance to the Parliament by bowing his head in respect to it, is today shying away from speaking there ...the chowkidar of the country has closed his eyes and is sleeping peacefully while the poor are spending sleepless nights," he told reporters here.
"Currency is never black...those who think it is, have their thinking flawed... actually it is the transaction which is black...The Prime Minister does not have the right understanding of economic situation," Sibal said.
He alleged that a note in the hands of a poor has also been rendered as black money. "The actual reason behind demonetisation is political and not economic...it is only for winning the UP polls ...to spring a surprise and help Modi emerge as the messiah of the poor," the Congress spokesperson said.
Sibal further said the Prime Minister does not know how to follow up demonetisation. "Modi could not think as to how the labourers, farmers and others will run their livelihood...he could not think how the wholesale and retail market will manage...vegetable vendors will not take the payment in cheque".
Citing statistics, he claimed that of the 125 crore population, only 60 crores have bank accounts whereas no transaction has taken place in the accounts of 32 crore people for years and asked whether they all have black money.
Demanding that the names of those having foreign accounts be made public, Sibal asked "when the government has the list why it is not being made public?"
Hitting out at the Centre for the "problems being faced by the people due to demonetisation", Sibal alleged that refusal by the banks to disburse one's own money amounted to breach of trust and was a criminal offence.
"The prime minister took three decisions on November 8. The first one was that you cannot withdraw more than Rs 20,000 (a week), even though it is not black money and you have proper details of it," he told reporters.
"The second was that you cannot withdraw more than Rs 2,000 of your money from ATMs even though it is also not black money...the third was that you can go and exchange Rs 4,000 for new currency notes from the banks.”
"Any of these three decisions is not connected to black money...if the bank stops you from withdrawing your own money, it amounts to breach of trust and is a criminal offence," the Congress leader claimed.
