New Delhi: Amidst fears of a slowdown post demonetisation, former Prime Minister Manomhan Singh on Wednesday cautioned that “the worst is yet to come”. “Modiji keeps on saying that he will transform the Indian economy... His propaganda of the national income going up is hollow,” Dr Singh said speaking at the Jan Vedna Sammelan, organised by the Congress against the demonetisation.
The former Prime Minister also added that demonetisation has hurt the country “badly” and things have gone from “bad to worse”.
Former finance minister P. Chidambaram while endorsing Dr Singh’s observation on the decline of the GDP alleged that the Centre “was treating the Reserve Bank of India as a government department and the institution’s credibility was at stake”.
Equating the Prime Minister to Hitler, he said, “ One person says I am the Fuhrer, I am the ruler and everyone agrees.”
Mr Chidambaram claimed that none of the promises made by the Prime Minister “will come true as they have not in the last 70 days” and asked Mr Modi to put his promises to test.
“I am throwing a challenge to the Prime Minister. Can he assure that in the month of May and June, when medical and engineering admissions take place, capitation fee will not be charged?” Mr Chidambaram said. Taking pot shots at the Union finance minister, Arun Jaitley, the predecessor said; “Apart from the finance minister, nobody in the world says that the GDP won’t be hit.”
Political secretary to the Congress president, Ahmed Patel, also the chairman of the implementation committee, ridiculed the Prime Minister by reminding that Mr Modi had said that if he failed to deliver on his promises, people should make him stand at a crossing and punish him.
“Now we have to choose a good crossing,” Mr Patel quipped.
The daylong convention also paved way for the second phase of the Congress agitation against demonetisation across the country at every district level till February 20.
The Congress leaders also accused the BJP dispensation of apathy towards the farmers, agricultural and manual workers and said that there has been acute distress in the agrarian sector.
