Congress activists staged a demonstration here on Friday against the “ill-advised” demonetisation of ₹500 and ₹100 currency notes by the Narendra Modi government two years ago.

Protesting at the Andhra Bank at the Brundavan garden centre here, Nellore District party president Panabaka Krishnaiah alleged that except for giving common people hardship no benefit had come from the move as a majority of the scrapped notes had returned to banks. Over 100 people had died while waiting in queues to withdraw their own money from bank accounts, he said.

GDP hit

In Ongole, Prakasam District party president Eda Sudhakar Reddy, leading a protest in front of the State Bank of India’s Mangamoor road branch, said, “the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country has plummeted and many industries were debt-ridden in the wake of the move which left lakhs of people jobless.”

None of the goals set by the prime minister had been accomplished, he alleged, adding that two years after the demonetisation the country continued to be a cash-based economy and the exercise helped the rich turn black money into white.