Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his announcement to demonetise currency notes of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 to fight the plague of black money earlier this week, tempers have been flying high. There have been reports of chaos prevailing in some parts of the country and even deaths occurring.
A child recently succumbed because a doctor refused to attend to him because his parents had only Rs. 500 notes that have been declared no longer legal tender. A distressed woman jumped off the Howrah Bridge because she couldn't manage to get cash from her ATM. Two elderly people died while standing in long queues in Kerala.
Poor management has given rise to large scale disenchantment.
Tehseen Poonawalla, an entrepreneur and political commentator, has claimed that the government is colluding with the real culprits.
In a series of hard-hitting tweets, Poonawalla has alleged that the BJP is laundering black money through the Patanjali Group run by one of its key supporters Baba Ramdev.
He has alleged that the meteoric rise in the sales of Patanjali products is not due to anything else but the BJP's money.
His tweets have incited divided reactions, leading many to claim that Modi's fight against black money is causing unprecedented inconvenience to the ordinary citizen. Some say it's a totally bureaucratic tactic.
Reportedly, the cost involved in the demonetisation of the old currency and replacing them with new ones will be less than the black money being checked.
Whether the government is well-intentioned or not, the common people have been hit the hardest. In a country as large as India, perhaps, Prime Minister Modi could have considered a lot more than he did.
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