Parliament still disrupted, 10 Opposition parties to intensify stir

New Delhi: A spirited Opposition escalated its attack against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government over his demonetisation move that has caused chaos across the country, even resulting in a string of deaths in some cases with people scrambling to deposit spiked notes and withdraw smaller or new bills.

Parties including Congress, TMC, JD(U), BSP, CPI(M), CPI, NCP, RJD, JMM and DMK attacked the government through the day. They have decided to hold a massive protest outside Parliament on Wednesday. AAP leader and Delhi’s deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia along with his ministerial colleagues will also take out a protest march to Parliament on Tuesday.

The PM however got support from an unexpected quarter when Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar again backed him and said, “PM Modi is riding a tiger …but there’s great sentiment in favour of his move and we should respect that.”

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that PM Modi was threatening other parties raising voices against his move to replace high-value banknotes, and said she would hit the streets of Delhi to protest against the decision.

“The Prime Minister is threatening other parties raising their voices. PM should be sober. PM should behave like a PM. If necessary, he should convene an all-party meeting on the issue,” she told a press conference.

“I will be in Delhi on November 23, 24 and in Lucknow on November 29. I will also go to Bihar and Punjab,” she said.

Mr Modi at a rally in Agra on Sunday said that political leaders behind multi-crore chit fund scams were attacking him because they had been hit hard by demonetisation, indirectly referring to the West Bengal chief minister.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi alleged that the PM was working only for a select few and was not concerned for the poor common man lining up for hours outside banks and ATMs.

“I have gone to banks to see the situation myself. People there told me that they are facing a lot of inconvenience (after Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes were withdrawn for replacement),” Mr Gandhi said outside Parliament.

The Congress also accused PM Modi of not following the law in the issuance of Rs 2,000 currency notes, and vowed to raise the matter inside and outside Parliament.

Congress leader Anand Sharma said the introduction of Rs 2,000 notes is an “illegal act” as the notification required to be issued under the RBI Act for printing new currency has not been issued.

The charges flew thick and fast as one more day of Parliament was wasted on Saturday over the issue, with the Opposition creating ruckus in both Houses. The Opposition continued to insist that Prime Minister Narendra Modi speak on the matter, a demand the government again rejected.  
 
The Lok Sabha could not function for the third straight working day. The Rajya Sabha, which saw a daylong inconclusive debate on demonetisation on the opening day of the Winter session on November 16, has also failed to transact any business since then.  

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati also alleged that the NDA government announced the demonetisation drive to fulfill their political interest in the wake of the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.  She dared Mr Modi to come to Parliament and face the opposition parties.

The Centre’s demonetisation move is a plan which even the country’s worst enemies would not be able to better, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury alleged. He said the recovery of unpaid bank loans from corporates should have been the government’s priority instead of demonetisation, thathas “hurt only the poor”.