 "Narendra Modi scared of questions, has lot to hide: Sitaram Yechury")
Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over demonetisation and corruption charges, CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury on Wednesday said he "has a lot to hide".
The Marxist leader also slammed the Centre for its "ordinance raj" after the cabinet approved an ordinance criminalising possession of demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes beyond March 31, 2017.
"The government has no option but take the ordinance route because unless the law is changed, demonetisation is not legal. Ideally this law should have been brought in parliament in the winter session," Yechury told the media.
"The government is increasingly relying on ordinance because it doesn't want to be answerable We are opposed to this Ordinance Raj," he said.
Questioning Modi's silence over demonetisation in parliament and not ordering a probe into the Sahara-Birla diaries, Yechury said Prime Minister to be "running scared of questions".
"There are questions in every Indian's mind which remain unanswered. These questions pertain to their suffering, their livelihoods, their well-being and their future. But no answers are forthcoming.
"This is the essential characteristic of Modi as PM. He runs scared from answering any questions," Yechury said later on Facebook.
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"Modi doesn't face parliament where representatives of the people can question him on behalf of the vast masses. He doesn't take any questions from the media... He doesn't answer any serious questions from the public which come through the RTI.
"Why is Modi so scared of questions? One, he clearly doesn't have answers. And two, he has a lot to hide," said the Communist Party of India-Marxist veteran.
He also questioned why Modi was not seeking an impartial probe into the Sahara-Birla diaries wherein he has been alleged to have received kickbacks as the Gujarat Chief Minister.
"Why wouldn't a PM answer questions about CAG's indictment of his Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Ltd (GSPC) deals as the CM," asked Yechury referring to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) questioning the GSPC's investment of Rs 19,576 crore in its Krishna Godavari (KG) block project.
"Why does he not answer questions about Rs 1.12 lakh crore of bank loans he has written off for rich corporates in past two years? Why does he not answer questions about top businessmen accompanying him on his foreign jaunts?" he asked.
"The basic foundation of a democratic dispensation is accountability based on questioning. Modi's evasion of answering any questions goes against that fundamental principle and needs to be reversed.
On the 50th day of his self-imposed deadline, will Modi at least answer as to what was the fault of 105 honest, hardworking people who died standing in bank queues while trying to access their own legitimate money," added Yechury.