Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday claimed honest people like her had to buy Puja offerings on credit and sniffed a strong link between the BJP Government’s demonetisation drive and the upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh.
launching a scathing attack on the Narendra Modi Government for “making prior arrangements for your own partymen before de-modying high-value currency notes so that the people from other parties faced the music,” Banerjee said “now I feel there is a link between the UP elections and the cancellations of the high-denomination notes.”
The Bengal Chief Minister was speaking at a religious function at Chandernagore in Hooghly district which was celebrating its biggest yearly festival: Jagaddhatri Puja which is another variation of Durga Puja.
“I tried to get sweets for Puja but failed as I had no money of lesser denomination. So I had to get them on credit,” the Chief Minister said, reminding, “a person of integrity I live by the royalty I earn for my books. When I withdrew `50,000 yesterday I had no inkling that this problem will fall on me. As all the notes were of higher denomination I was left completely stranded.”
Attacking the Modi Government for its “exhibitionism while doing nothing real,” Banerjee said, “you have to understand the problem of the common people before you take any measure. You could have arranged for supplied adequate amount of notes in lieu of the money you were cancelling. Instead of doing so you suddenly de-legalised the notes in currency. This has left a disastrous effect on the market and the common man.”
Banerjee said the whole market areas “through which I was travelling wore a deserted look as very people opened their shops. It is not enough to take decisions. It is more important for those in power to keep your feet on the ground so that you can understand the problem of the common man as I do.”
She alleged “roads are closed, markets are shut and private hospitals are not taking big cash causing immense problem for the patients.”