The demonetisation move has brought financial chaos and anarchy in the country, the Congress alleged today and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi as to who gave him the right to limit the withdrawal of taxpayers hard-earned money.
Hitting out at the government over the move that has made the common man stand in long queues for hours to get his money exchanged, Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma said that the Prime Minister should understand ground realities "before the situation goes out of control".
He also demanded that government makes public all NPAs and banks declare the list of big loan defaulters of over Rs 500 crore. He also sought making public the names of industrialists whose loans worth Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 60,000 crore have been rescheduled during the Modi regime.
The issue will be raised prominently by the opposition, including Congress, in winter session of Parliament commencing next week, he said when asked of TMC leader Mamata Banerjee's reported plea for all opposition parties to come together on the issue.
"The Government should take stock of the situation before it goes out of control. This is a Government which is insensitive, a Government which is arrogant, which has created a myth and carried away by its own propaganda.
"They have created a financial chaos and anarchy like situation in India," he said.
Sharma also questioned BJP chief Amit Shah for doing propaganda on the move as his party had opposed it in 2014 when in opposition.
"Is this hypocrisy? When UPA was in power, BJP opposed organised withdrawal of currency. Has Shri Amit Shah forgotten his own parties words?," he also asked the BJP chief whose party raised strong objections to the move to demonetise currency during UPA.
"Does the BJP have courage in its convictions to comment on their statement from two years ago? Or did they support Black Money then?," he asked, releasing a copy of BJP's press statement of February 2014.
The Congress leader also questioned Finance Minister Arun Jaitley over claims of counterfeit currency and quoted a reply by him in Parliament where he has stated that only 0.02 per cent of the total currency is fake.
"In August 2016, the Finance Minister said in Parliament that the counterfeit currency in circulation was only 0.02 per cent of the total currency.
"When it comes to Rs 500 and Rs 1000 denomination, then is even less. It is a negligible amount with regards to total currency The suspected counterfeit currency was Rs 400 crore as against Rs 16,46,000 crore in circulation," he said.
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Asked why Rahul Gandhi had to stand in a queue, Sharma said he being a political leader has the right to raise the issue.
"Rahul Gandhi is a political leader and is the vice president of a party, he has done the right thing. More leaders should go out and do the same thing," he said.
Claiming that many marriages have been cancelled, Sharma said this is the time for festivals and weddings and people have also to manage their daily expenses and thus should have been forewarned.
He also said that government responded by saying that if people were alerted then terrorists and criminals would have been forewarned and go to banks and convert cash.
"We have never heard something as absurd as this," he said.
"If people were alerted, then they could have ensured that they had enough cash for their daily expenses," he said.
He said Congress as a responsible opposition will play its role by standing with the common man and raising the concerns of small shopkeepers, poor and the oppressed.
"Government has given the common people of the country such exemplary punishment for no fault of theirs, which is not acceptable in a decent country and democracy.
"It is illegal step. How can government fix limits. The Prime Minister and Finance Minister have no claim over the money of taxpayers," he said.
Sharma said the Prime Minister and Finance Minister have no claim over the money of the taxpayer. "The money lying in savings bank of citizens, Government has no business to say that you cannot withdraw or impose restrictions. What is my money is my money, it does not belong to Narendra Modi. Under which law has the government done so," he asked.
The Congress leader claims that during the UPA, the government ensured that in the transition period, there were enough new notes printed so that people were not inconvenienced.
He said India has amongst the highest savings rates in the world and all this money was accounted for.
"If the currency has been printed, then why has it not reached the banks?," he asked.
Raising concerns of farmers, Sharma said, "Which farmer, dear Fin Min and Mr Amit Shah, carries a swipe machine when he goes to the mandi?". He added the textile sector also uses cash transactions. Farm labourers and contract labourers are paid in cash.
"Our economy has significant section which is cash based. This is not all illicit. Farmers go to mandis and use cash for transaction," he said.
He said to say that 86 per cent of the money that was in circulation is dubbed as black money.
