New Delhi: Akin to a Chinese torture which lasted almost two hours, the Opposition on Monday reopened the bitter memories of the after effects of demonetisation, took to the cleaners the Centre’s claims on the surgical strikes, allocating funds for MGNREGA, SCs and STs subplans and the agriculture sector, as well as its cashless economy initiatives.
Participating in a debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address in Lok Sabha, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, with the help of figures and copious notes, gave a point-by-point rebuttal to Centre’s claims, saying that it has failed on all fronts and yet it is trying to “fool” the people.
What made Mr Kharge’s systematic attack (which lasted one hour and 45 minutes) on the Centre all the more potent was that he repeatedly targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was present in the Lower House throughout his speech. The Congress leader used the opportunity to speak at length on demonetisation, making up for the lack of discussion on the issue during the Winter Session.
Mr Modi is expected to respond to the discussion on February 7 in Lok Sabha.
The Congress MP said that the PM should apologise to the nation for the demonetisation decision which caused a “lot of troubles” to all sections of the people.
The government, on the other hand, asserted that the schemes and programmes initiated by it had been a success. Union minister Mahesh Sharma, who initiated the debate in the morning, said the entire nation had stood with Mr Modi on the “bold” decision aimed at curbing black money, ending corruption and choking funds to terrorism. The PM was present in the House since 12 pm when the discussion on the Motion of Thanks began after a 50 minute adjournment in the morning.
Peppered with lots of repartee and witty digs at the PM as well as the BJP, Mr Kharge quipped that the government was misleading the countrymen by claiming that the nation is progressing fast.
“You can fool some of the people for some time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time,” he said, quoting Abraham Lincoln, and added, “There is failure on all fronts. So what are you talking about?”
Talking about demonetisation, Mr Kharge said, “All the economists have said the decision to ban notes was bad. What steps did the government take before rolling out the plan?”
