The Opposition parties, united over changes in tenancy laws, have decided not to offer active support to ‘Bharat bandh’, called by the Congress on November 28, against demonetisation of high-value notes.
Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) chief and ex-Chief Minister Babulal Marandi, along with other parties, including the JMM and JD (U), at a Press conference on Saturday, said their support to the bandh would remain confined to ‘moral’ boundary.
“It will not be a good idea to force common people suffer twice within a week. They have already suffered a lot due to unplanned and anti-poor step of demonetisation by the Union Government. So, we have decided to keep the State away from the Bharat Bandh on Monday. However, we will organise Aakrosh meetings and agitations at district headquarters throughout the State. We will also organise a sizeable rally at Bhagwan Birsa Munda Chowk in the city,” said Marandi. He, along with all opposition leaders in the State, including Vinod Pandey (JMM), Rakesh Sinha (Congress), Manohar Yadav (SP), Sanjay Sahay (JDU), Bhubaneshwar Mehta (CPI), Anil Anand and Kailash Yadav (RJD), Gopichand Bakshi (CPM) and others also claimed Jharkhand Bandh organised on Friday a huge success. They thanked the common people to stand firm against anti-Adivasi moves of the State Government.
The leaders present in the Press conference once again unanimously cried possibilities of ‘kith and kin and well-wishers’ of the BJP having been pre-informed of the demonetisation move by the Government. Going ahead with the Central leadership of the party, Mehta repeated the demand of restoring validity of `1,000 and `500 old currency notes until ‘alternative arrangements’ were being made. However, he couldn’t come up with the details of those possible arrangements.
The ex-CM said the Union Government had just destroyed financial system and hopes of rural India. “The PM wouldn’t have avoided his presence in Parliament despite repeated demand of the Opposition, had the will of the Government in support of demonetisation been clear and transparent. He could have accepted Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) led enquiry of the entire matter,” said Marandi.
Thanking the common people for making Friday’s bandh a success, Pandey said the move of demonetisation had left poor people bleeding, physically and mentally. “Common men, traders, labourers, senior citizens and those with meager savings and no bank accounts across the State in general and in rural areas particular, have suffered more than anything else in their lifetime. Farmers are crying. The demonetisation has well served the purpose of making the black money of the mighty white,” claimed Pandey.
However, sources claimed that the reason for calling support to Bharat Bandh quit had less to do with the Bandh organised on Friday, and more to do with unpreparedness of the parties for another Bandh just two days after. They also said the Bandh organised on Friday couldn’t attract support of common people of Jharkhand as had been claimed and anticipated, which forced the opposition to stay away from Bharat bandh.
Meanwhile, Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FJCCI) has also announced of its non-participation in bandh on Monday. Chamber president Vinay Agrawal appealed to traders carry on business fearlessly, as their business had been already suffering due to lack of cash with the customers.