New Delhi: Despite the absence of some top regional political satraps, eight Opposition parties — led by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Trinamul chief Mamata Banerjee — attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over demonetisation as well as alleged corruption charges against him.
Both leaders said at a press conference in Delhi that the PM should quit if the situation did not improve post December 30, when the deadline to deposit scrapped notes in banks ends.
While announcing his radical monetary reform on November 8, Mr Modi had promised to restore normalcy in 50 days, but the Opposition said that the situation had not improved.
The ruling BJP mocked the Congress-led meet saying it was Mr Gandhi's “flop show”, and that the bubble of the so-called Opposition unity had burst. Many parties such as SP, BSP, JD(U) and NCP decided to stay away from the meet.
Besides the Congress and the Trinamul, parties whose representatives were present at the meeting were RJD, DMK, JD-S, JMM, IUML and AIUDF.
Sonia abstains from meet
Opposition parties — led by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Trinamul chief Mamata Banerjee — attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over demonetisation as well as alleged corruption charges against him.
Thought the opposition meet was apparently the brainchild of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, sources said she herself did not attend as a majority of the parties did not turn up.
A combative Mr Gandhi said demonetisation was the PM’s personal initiative, which he had announced without consulting even his top officials. He should take personal responsibility for its “failure”, Mr Gandhi said.
He described the ban on old Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes as a “single arbitrary financial experiment in the history of the world that affected 1.3 billion people”, and asked the PM to explain the “real” reason for implementing it and take responsibility for giving pain to people. “Such an experiment was never done even during Mao’s reign in China,” he said.
Mr Gandhi also asked the PM to answer charges of “personal corruption” made against him in the wake of his name allegedly figuring in the Sahara and Birla diaries. It was West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who first demanded the PM’s resignation and Mr Gandhi only later echoed it.
“If even after 50 days he has not been able to address the grievances of the people. Will he take responsibility and resign?” Ms Banerjee asked. She further said that there were only three days left and wondered what “magic wand” the PM would use to get things in order now. “It is nice to market digital payments with government money,” she said.
When the Congress leader was asked whether he supported the demand for the Prime Minister’s resignation and what would be done if Mr Modi did not resign, he said: “If he does not resign, we will put pressure on him to resign”.
