GUWABATI: Opposition Congress observed a black day in Assam on Wednesday on the one year anniversary of the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on November 8, 2016.
Several senior Congress leaders, including Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Ripun Bora and leader of the opposition, Debabrata Saikia were detained by police in Guwahati while protesting against the demonetisation move.
Addressing a rally in the city, senior Congress leader CP Joshi demanded the BJP-led government apologize before the families of the victims who died in the aftermath of the decision.
"People of India want to know what they have gained from demonetisation. Small traders were ruined across the country after the note ban and the government went ahead to sign secret business deals with big business houses for digital transactions. The peasants and workers were worst affected. Is the government celebrating the misery of their own countrymen? Do they remember how many people lost their lives while they were queuing to withdraw money and how those people in need of cash for treatment suffered?" asked Johi.
Several workers of the Congress were detained by police when they went to stage a sit-in at the Reserve Bank of India office in Guwahati, while many others were put behind bars as the local administration did not allow the opposition party to take out a protest rally from the Sonaram Higher Secondary School playground here. The National Students' Union of India (NSUI) too staged protests at Gauhati University, cautioning the government not to take such decisions that may harass the student community in future.
Later in the evening, police scuffled with the Congress leaders again when they gathered to light candles in memory of the 'demonetisation victims'.
Several senior Congress leaders, including Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Ripun Bora and leader of the opposition, Debabrata Saikia were detained by police in Guwahati while protesting against the demonetisation move.
Addressing a rally in the city, senior Congress leader CP Joshi demanded the BJP-led government apologize before the families of the victims who died in the aftermath of the decision.
"People of India want to know what they have gained from demonetisation. Small traders were ruined across the country after the note ban and the government went ahead to sign secret business deals with big business houses for digital transactions. The peasants and workers were worst affected. Is the government celebrating the misery of their own countrymen? Do they remember how many people lost their lives while they were queuing to withdraw money and how those people in need of cash for treatment suffered?" asked Johi.
Several workers of the Congress were detained by police when they went to stage a sit-in at the Reserve Bank of India office in Guwahati, while many others were put behind bars as the local administration did not allow the opposition party to take out a protest rally from the Sonaram Higher Secondary School playground here. The National Students' Union of India (NSUI) too staged protests at Gauhati University, cautioning the government not to take such decisions that may harass the student community in future.
Later in the evening, police scuffled with the Congress leaders again when they gathered to light candles in memory of the 'demonetisation victims'.
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