Don't label people anti-nationals as per your whims: Shiv Sena to govt

Mumbai: Slamming the Centre's demonetisation move, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said the BJP should not label people as patriots or anti-nationals as per its whims.

He said that if demonetising Rs 500/Rs 1,000 notes could stop terrorism, the whole world should have adopted a similar model.

"You do not need to teach patriotism to people who are distressed and quietly standing in queues. Their hard earned money is being used for all works in the country. Thus, you (the BJP) should not label people as patriots or anti-nationals as per your whims and fancies," Thackeray told reporters at his residence 'Matoshree' in suburban Bandra.

Notably, Fadnavis, while addressing an election rally at Ratnagiri in coastal Konkan recently, had said that those opposing Prime Minister Narendra Modi on demonetisation were harming the country and people should come together to win this decisive battle against black money.

Commenting on the Reserve Bank's proposal of opening of "Islamic window" in conventional banks for "gradual" introduction of Sharia-compliant or interest-free banking in the country, he wondered as to where was the country heading.

"You do not allow district co-operative banks to exchange old currency and on the other hand permitting Islamic banking. I do not understand where is our country headed towards," he said.

Both the Centre and RBI are exploring the possibility of introduction of Islamic banking for long to ensure financial inclusion of those sections of the society that remain excluded due to religious reasons.

Thackeray said that if demonetising Rs 500/Rs 1,000 bills could stop terrorism, the whole world should have adopted this model.

"If it were true that scrapping old currency would stop terrorism, the whole world should adopt this model as terrorism is a global evil and every country is at risk," he said.