A day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation, the CPI(M) today raised a flurry of questions to know if all demonetised money has returned to banks and the estimated loss the move has caused to India's economy even as Centre's demonetisation deadline ends today.
In its statement, party Politburo demanded to know why the government has not constituted probes into alleged Sahara-Birla diaries and Vyapam scam at a time when the Prime Minister was "talking a lot" about ending corruption.
Describing demonetisation as "one man made disaster" which has pushed the "beleaguered" Indian economy into a tailspin, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury accused the Prime Minister of running away from questions in this regard, raised in Parliament or by media or through RTI.
"Though PM does not like questions either in Parliament, by the press or via RTI. We must continue to do what we must and ask them," Yechury tweeted.
The CPI(M) asked the government to lift all restrictions on the withdrawal of money by people from banks and remove all costs on such dealings given the Centre is pitching for increased digital transactions.
Among other, the party demanded the government to compensate families of 100 people who have reportedly died while queueing up to withdraw money from banks/ATMs and sought to know how many people have lost jobs since demonetisation was announced.
"The PM must publicly declare the quantum of demonetised money that has returned to the banks ... Has all of the demonetised money come back into the banks now? What is the quantum and value of new notes that have been printed so far?" it asked.
"What is the government's estimation of the economic loss to the nation as a result of this move? How many people have lost their jobs and livelihood since demonetisation was announced on November 8, 2016?" it sought to know.
Referring to Modi's pitch for ending corruption, the Left party asked the government why it has not instituted probes into the various alleged scams like Vyapam and Sahara-Birla dairies, etc.
Alleging that demonetisation caused "immense misery" to the poor and downtrodden, the Politburo asked the NDA government to double the allocation for the MNREGA to ensure 100 days of employment for all those who are enrolled.
Provide tax rebate to small and medium enterprises and remove all restrictions on deposits and withdrawals of funds from the cooperative banks, it said.
"If there are any specific cases of malpractices against any bank, they should be proceeded against on criminal charges, but the cooperative banking system which is the backbone for rural India cannot be destroyed," it insisted.
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Taking to Twitter to target Modi, Yechury reiterated allegations that BJP and its "friends" were tipped off about the demonetisation move and asked why no inquiry was initiated into their dealings.
To drive his point in this regard, the Marxist leader alleged that the BJP's West Bengal unit deposited Rs 3 crore in Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes "just before" the demonetisation announcement and had purchased lands in the run up to the declaration.
He questioned why the Rs 1.12 lakh crore loans of corporate houses were written off when farmers are made to repay debts.
"Why did your govt not allow Condolence in Parliament which we, the Opposition proposed on Nov 21 for more than 100 dead #Demonetisation," he asked.
The Rajya Sabha member also sought to know from the Prime Minister whether he will take "responsibility for Indian army losing twice the number of soldiers to terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir recently than in past two years".
Hitting out at Modi for allegedly not providing two crore jobs a year as promised during 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Yechury said "instead, there have only been job losses."
The government, he said, boasted about constructing roads of 40 km length per day, but only 6 km were made and questioned whether this was its "Good Governance".
