New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday accused the Congress leadership of “desperation” in the face of his “tough” demonetisation decision, and said that it was the first time that a concerted effort was made by the Opposition to “openly” protect the dishonest through disruptions in Parliament.
Mr Modi, in an interview to an English magazine, asserted that while the honest would not be harassed, those with black wealth had “only a few days to hide” before they were punished. Issuing the “most dire warning” to black marketeers and the corrupt, Mr Modi said “if the enemy runs, we will chase them. If they change their tactics, we will change ours. When the corrupt finds new methods of cheating, we will find new methods to clamp down on the same.”
The PM also slammed his predecessor Dr Manmohan Singh, who had described demonetisation move as a “monumental mismanagement” and an “organised loot”.
Mr Modi said his predecessor might have been referring to the “unending string of scams” like 2G, CWG and coal block allocation “under his leadership”. He said, “I pity the Congress leadership, for the desperation they have been exhibiting... Congress leaders are entirely pre-occupied with only one thing, elections... There is nothing political with the demonetisation decision...”
