Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam on Friday said that the electorate will kill Prime Minister Modi politically in the next elections, as he did not have answers for the destruction of the economy, environment of fear, rampant corruption and unemployment.
Mr. Nirupam was speaking at a protest by the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee (MRCC) against the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) government, to mark the second anniversary of demonetisation. The MRCC president, who led the protest termed demonetisation as the biggest scam in the history of India.
The former Lok Sabha MP said that they had gathered at Azad Maidan to shout so loud that the echoes of prime minister’s sins are heard by him in New Delhi. “We have printed the noose and [Mr. Modi’s] picture side by side on posters to remind him about his speech on November 8, 2016 on demonetisation where he offered to be at every road intersection and hanged if it fails,” Mr. Nirupam said. He further said that the government has failed on every front from unemployment, economic progress, corruption to farmer’s suicide.
“Over 150 people died standing in lines. People in hospitals could not pay their bills, weddings had to cancelled. The unorganised sector was destroyed and now after 600 days, there are no answers,” he said. According to Mr. Nirupam, for the past year and a half, the Prime Minister has not mentioned demonetisation anywhere. “It’s because he knows in his heart that his decision caused havoc. Around 30 lakh were rendered jobless as several small and medium enterprises had to shut down.”
The MRCC chief said that the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party with the help of the Prime Minister helped convert thousands of crores of black money of big industrialists white. “None of the big names caught with black money at that time have been arrested. In the report submitted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) after six months, most of the old currency was returned. It was like burning the house down because of a mosquito,” he said.
Maharashtra Congress spokesperson, Dr. Raju Waghmare said, “There has to be a reason none of the developed economies ever demonetised their notes. It is childish make common people suffer for personal gains.” All three reasons that touted demonetisation necessary have failed miserably, he said. “Terrorism has increased, there is no account of black money and fake currency seized. We filed an RTI application in the RBI asking how many notes were printed and sent to each State. It has been two years and we are still waiting for the answer,” he said.
Mumbai Mahila Congress president, Dr. Ajanta Yadav said that instead of decreasing, crime against women had been steadily increasing. “The BJP talks about women’s empowerment, safety and have been making tall promises but in reality crimes against women are rising every day, the situation of women’s safety is worsening,” she said.