The Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee organised a protest march to the Raj Bhawan where a party delegation headed by the PCC chief submitted a memorandum addressed to president of India to the Governor. In the memorandum the Congress has raised various issues and also demanded formation of a joint parliamentary committee to probe into “questionable” confidentiality prior to the demonetisation. Earlier, chief minister Harish Rawat also addressed party workers at the Congress Bhawan, lambasting prime minister Narendra Modi’s step of demonetisation of `500 and `1,000 currency notes is affecting the poor and middle class people the most. led by PCC chief Kishore Upadhyay, the party workers burnt an effigy and then marched to the Raj Bhawan as part of the protest conducted by PCC vice president Jot Singh Bisht in Dehradun on Monday. Among the issues raised in the memorandum, the PCC has averred that Uttarakhand alone has suffered about `700 crore tourism-related loss since the demonetisation.
Earlier, addressing a large gathering of party workers at the Congress Bhawan, Chief Minister Harish Rawat and PCC chief Kishore Upadhyay registered their protest on behalf of the poor and middle class persons hit most by the demonetisation decision while also alleging that during its two and a half years in office, the Union Government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi had not facilitated any scheme for the betterment of the poor and common people. On the contrary, the centre, intending to benefit a few influencial persons, is causing harassment of the common public, they said.
later, a party delegation headed by Upadhyay approached the Raj Bhawan to submit their memorandum addressed to the president of India on the issue. The PCC memorandum states that about three weeks after the demonetisation decision was taken by the PM on November 8, a state of quandary has remained across the nation with those living in remote rural areas facing a serious financial problem. In the name of extracting black money and getting counterfeit currency out of circulation, the decision taken by the PM appears to be a conspiracy to benefit a few industrial families and capitalists at the cost of the nation’s economy, States the PCC memorandum.
It goes on to state, “This decision of the Union Government has affected the poor, farmers, labourers, small traders and low income group the most. Those living on daily earnings like small traders, those selling fruits and vegetables on carts and stalls along with taxi and rickshaw drivers are facing a major livelihood issue. The small farmers involved in cultivation of fruit and vegetable are not getting buyers for their yield due to which the harvest reaped after much toil is rotting away.” States with limited-resources like Uttarakhand with major earning from from tourism and related activities are suffering due to the decision with Uttarakhand alone suffering a loss of about `700 crore so far. Stating that the Congress party does not want to make demonetisation a subject of political gain, the memorandum raises half a dozen issues in view of the problems being caused to the poor by the decision. “During the tenure of the UPA Government at the Centre, the maximum limit for deposit in foreign banks was set at $ 75,000 per annum but the Modi Government first increased this limit to $ 1,25,000 per annum and to $ 2,50,000 in the second stage providing favoured industrial families full facility for sending their black money abroad. As a result, the heavy amount of $ 11,000 crore was deposited in foreign banks in one year. The demonetisation decision was taken after this which has now become cause of problem for the common man. The limit for depositing money in bank should be increased from `2.50 lakh to `10 lakh tax-free. Small farmers and dairy producers sustained considerable loss due to absence of buyers to make up for which adequate compensation should be facilitated. The sowing of the Rabi crop has started but farmers dependent on cooperative banks are hassled for seeds and fertiliser and unable to sow the crop which could cause a drastic drop in foodgrain production in the future. Compared to the previous year, five times more money was deposited in banks in the quarter prior to demonetisation which raises questions at the secrecy maintained in the run up to demonetisation to probe which a joint parliamentary committee should be formed.
Further, the tourism-dependent Uttarakhand State should be provided `2,000 crore to compensate for the loss caused by demonetisation,” states the memorandum while also requesting the president to issue necessary directions to the Central Government for addressing these public-interest issues.