Note ban is like super emergency, says West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee

Patna: Seeking immediate withdrawal of demonetisation drive, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee staged a protest in Patna on Wednesday. While dubbing the drive as “super Emergency”, Ms Banerjee vowed to agitate against it till a rollback of the decision is announced by the Centre.

“The government has taken away the freedom from the people that they have been enjoying for the past 69 years. The government has snatched ‘Roti, Kapda aur Makan’ from the people... A people’s movement was started during the Emergency days... Today, the situation is even worse than Emergency, it can be termed as super Emergency,” the Trinamul Congress supremo said.

“People are facing difficulties and inconveniences. They (NDA government) have sold the country. It is the duty of political parties to raise their voice for the people and we will continue with our agitation till the government takes a decision to roll back the demonetisation move,” she said.

Ms Banerjee has been at the forefront of the protest against the Narendra Modi government’s decision to scrap Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes. Sharing dais with senior RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, she said she stands with the common man.

“I had two options — to either go with the Prime Minister on the issue or to stand with common people. I chose common people because I feel the Prime Minister has snatched away the basic means of livelihood from them by this demonetisation drive” Ms Banerjee said in Patna.

At one point during the rally, she also used terms like “traitors” for leaders who didn’t support the movement. She said,“People will not forgive such leaders who betrayed them by supporting the move”.

Observers believe that the term was used for Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar who supported Mr Modi on the demonetisation move. Ms Banerjee had earlier met RJD chief Lalu Yadav in Patna on Tuesday.

Mounting an attack on Nitish Kumar for supporting the drive, RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said, “Nitish Kumar’s support to currency ban is a blow to the grand alliance in Bihar but our stand is clear on the issue”.

Miss Banerjee who had met RJD Chief Lalu Yadav after she arrived in Patna on Tuesday had thanked him for his support but when asked about Nitish Kumar’s stand on the issue she said,  “His party like any other political party has its own stand on the issue but I thank Lalu Yadav for his support”.  

Earlier Mr. Yadav and his son, Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Tejaswi Yadav had clarified that “RJD was in favour of the move but against its poor implementation”.