The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday accused the Centre of imposing an "undeclared emergency" in the country and sought "public apology" from the government for the demonetisation move, at a meeting that was marred by sloganeering between supporters of AAP co-founder Kumar Vishwas and Delhi MLA Amanatullah Khan.
The sixth annual National Council Meeting of Delhi's ruling party also expressed "grave concern" over "politically motivated communal tension and fear" in the country due to upcoming assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat.
The meeting attended by over 300 AAP delegates from across the country unanimously passed a resolution that also raised concern over the "declining economic growth" attributed to demonetisation and hastily implemented Goods and Services Tax (GST).
"The AAP seeks public apology from the Centre for a fraud in the name of demonetisation. The AAP also demands that GST slabs and rates should be reduced to give respite to small traders and proposed that cash transactions in rural areas should be re-established.
"The economic growth rate has gone down to 5.7 per cent and is constantly declining. This happened because of the government's anti-people policies. The country had to bear the double brunt of demonetisation and GST."
The resolution said that India has the largest population of youth in the world who have become "hopeless" because there are no jobs available.
"The BJP before it came to power had promised to create 2 crore jobs per year. But the government's anti-people note ban and GST have cost 45 per cent of jobs available in the country. Ninety per cent of employment in India comes from the unorganised sector that has been destroyed after the note ban."
The AAP condemned the "undeclared emergency-like situation created by the central government" and said independent and fearless journalists were being killed or harassed by police.
It also condemned pressure being applied on the media in an attempt to print or air only one-sided news stories.
The resolution appealed to all sections of the society to maintain peace as "an environment of communal tension and fear was being created in view of the upcoming polls".
The meeting was attended by two MPs, all MLAs from Punjab and party state representatives. There were five main speakers including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia and spokesperson Ashutosh.
The meeting ended in a ruckus after supporters of AAP leader Kumar Vishwas and MLA Amanatullah Khan raised slogans and counter-slogans.
Earlier this week, the AAP revoked the suspension of Khan, who had faced disciplinary action in May after he called Kumar Vishwas, its Rajasthan in-charge, a "BJP agent".
As both leaders came out of the meeting and walked towards their cars, their supporters raised slogans against each another.
Asked whether he expressed his displeasure at the meeting over the revoking of Khan's suspension, Kumar Vishwas said he did not speak because he was not listed as a speaker.
A party source told IANS that Kumar Vishwas -- who was not seated on the dais with Kejriwal and other senior leaders and sat amongst the delegates -- spoke twice at the meeting but not on Khan.
Earlier, Kumar Vishwas had said that Khan represented those who wanted to destroy the AAP.
In May, Kumar Vishwas was named the AAP in-charge of Rajasthan, where elections are due next year. The same day, Khan was suspended from the party.
The decisions came days after Khan alleged that Kumar Vishwas was conspiring to break the AAP and plotting a coup against Kejriwal at the behest of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
--IANS
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