Kisi ka kala dhan khul raha hai, to kisi ka kala mann, (black money of some is being disclosed, and black intent of some others), said Prime Minister Narendra Modi while defending his decision on demonetisation at Swatantrata Bhawan in Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in Varanasi on Thursday.
A day after Rahul accused him of taking money from Sahara and Birla groups when he was Gujarat Chief Minister, Modi said, “He (Rahul) had been going around threatening that when he speaks, there will be an earthquake. If he hadn’t spoken, there could have been an earthquake. It would have been an earthquake that people would have had to deal with for 10 years. There is no chance of an earthquake now that he has spoken. We can rest assured that there is no danger of the natural calamity in sight.”
The PM took potshots at Rahul for his assertion that payments through cards, online transfers, etc, would face hurdles in the country due to low literacy levels, saying, “I hope he does not say that I had indulged in some sort of black magic to make illiterate those who knew how to read and write. He never thinks before he speaks and he may not have realised that he has admitted the failure of the long reign of his own party,” Modi said, adding his detractors have been forced “to admit, even if unwittingly, their failures”.
Modi said the “young leader” of Congress does not think before speaking and had unwittingly admitted to the “failure” of his party’s reign.
Calling himself “Kashi ka bachcha” (a child of Kashi, the name associated with Varanasi), Modi said, “I am, nonetheless, delighted to see that the power of this holy land has made me work and forced detractors to admit, even if unwittingly, their failures”.
Modi also slammed the Opposition for stalling Parliament over demonetization. He likened it to the “cover fire” given by Pakistani forces to help terrorists in infiltration and mocked Rahul Gandhi for his “earthquake” remark, saying he has “learnt to speak”.
“Many people say I had not taken account the consequences of this huge step (of demonetisation). In fact, the only thing that I could not take into account was the brazenness with which many political parties and leaders came to the rescue of the corrupt,” he said.
Pointing to demonetisation, the PM said, “Desh me bahut bada safai abhiyan chal raha hai (a big cleanliness drive is going on in the country) and whenever one launch cleanliness drive to remove the heaps of garbage, it emits foul smells.”
He said his Government is determined to remove the heaps of black money with the blessings of 125 crores people of the country.
He also hit out at former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, saying their argument that promoting cashless economy was futile due to poverty, illiteracy and electricity not reaching villages in the country “exposes” their own report card.