Continuing its attack on demonetisation, Congress today asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to tell the nation the amount of black money, counterfeit currency and terror financing unearthed since November 8, when the sudden move to withdraw high-value currency was announced.
Party spokesperson Manish Tewari also wanted to know under whose custody the Rs 14.86 lakh crore deposited by people in their bank accounts following demonetisation was kept, and how does the government plan to dispose it of.
Whether the government was willing to destroy the notes under the supervision of the Supreme Court or under a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), Tewari asked.
"Since the surgical strike on 1.2 billion people on November 8, the prime minister in the last three days is not answering crucial questions raised by the opposition.
"For the last three days neither RBI nor the government have said anything on how much black money has been returned and have not said anything on all these issues," he said.
Tewari said "the prime minister must tell how much of reduction in terror financing has taken place after demonetisation."
The Congress leader criticised the way Modi addressed the nation on New Year's Eve, saying no elected leader has ever spoken in such a "threatening" manner" - like an "invader".
Accusing the prime minister of pitting the poor against the rich, Tewari said he needed to "introspect".
Asked why the prime minister was not answering questions raised by the Opposition, he said "this is the way dictators function as they dub their detractors as traitors."
Taking a dig at BJP, Tewari asked how some parties who are talking about curbing black money deposited huge cash in their accounts just ahead of demonetisation decision, and said there was a need to investigate them.
He likened Modi's speech on December 31 to a budget speech outside the Parliament. "It has never happened before.
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