Turning up the heat on the issue of demonetisation of Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes, the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday accused the Government of being indifferent to the plight of the common man and selectively leaking the information to help its friends convert their high value currency notes.
Demanding a time-bound Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the leak of the demonetisation information to possible beneficiaries, the Opposition also asked the Government to make public names of account holders in Swiss banks. While backing the fight against black money and corruption, the Opposition trained its guns on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking the decision on November 8 without proper planning, thereby causing untold misery to the public.
“People have been turned into beggars and are forced to wait for hours in queues to withdraw or deposit their own hard-earned money, leading to economic anarchy,” was the common refrain of majority of the Opposition leaders of Congress, BSP, SP, CPM, AIADMK, RJD and NCP.
Participating in the debate on the issue on the first day of the Winter Session, the Opposition also demanded that the Prime Minister’s presence in the House to hear their views. The Government on its part defended demonetisation and said people at large welcomed it and were willing to undergo hardship for a few days.
Initiating the debate, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma accused Modi of being “insensitive” to the problems faced by the people following demonetisation and said he had adopted a dictatorial attitude. Sharma said Modi was behaving like Iranian leader Nader Shah.
In a speech filled with wit and sarcasm, Sharma said while Modi was riding a Bullet Train in Japan after announcing demonetisation, the people were left to fend for themselves and stand in endless queues. He accused Modi of ‘insulting’ honest taxpayers besides farmers and the poor by saying that those standing in lines were responsible for 2G and coal scams, and demanded an apology.
Sharma also asked the PM to explain where he got Rs24,000 crore, estimated by the International Money Watch Group, for his lok Sabha election campaign in 2014. He also asked if cheques or credit card payments were made to organise his rally in Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh a few days ago.
Sharma asked the Government to inform Parliament about the threat to Modi’s life as mentioned by him in a speech last week and said it was a ‘serious matter.’
However, the main allegation of the Opposition was that the information on demonetisation was selectively leaked. Sharma said, “Your BJP units deposited crores (just before the November 8 decision).” Quoting media reports, he said the State Bank of India (SBI) knew of the decision way back in March and a Gujarati newspaper had in April published a report on the demonetisation move. He demanded a probe into “how many people bought more than Rs1 crore worth of foreign currency and bullion” since April. The “ill-timed” and “ill-conceived” move unleashed “economic anarchy” in the country and benefited a few, he added.
Questioning Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s justification about the need to maintain secrecy as terrorists or people with ill-gotten wealth would have been alerted, Sharma quipped, “Which terrorist goes to the RBI with sack full of counterfeit currency to change.”
The Opposition also slammed the Government for launching demonetisation without making adequate arrangements for dispensing new notes.
Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav, JD-U’s Sharad Yadav, CPI-M’s Sitaram Yechury and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati also lamented the plight of the poor and farmers at the time of Rabi sowing season.
They also questioned the SBI’s decision to waive off liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s loan. Jaitley clarified that the waiver was only for the account books but in actual the bank will pursue recovery.
Ram Gopal also questioned the logic behind 200 per cent fine on those who deposit higher amount in banks. Sharad Yadav asked the Centre to allow the State Government to relax the norms for Government services and asked for a meeting of all Chief Ministers in this regard.
CPI-M’s Sitaram Yechury questioned the Government’s arguments for demonetisation. He said the introduction of Rs 2000 notes will increase corruption and suggested putting an end to corporate donations to political parties and allowing State funding of the polls. Yechury also questioned the Assam Government’s decision to allow old currency notes in areas where local polls are to be held. “Why not allow the same for tea plantation workers in Darjeeling and other placesIJ” Yechury said.
Talking about the Government’s insistence on use of plastic money, Yechury commented that this reminded him of the famous one liner by French Queen Marie-Antoinette “let them eat cake,” when she learnt that her people had no bread to eat.
“Similarly, when told there is no money in ATMs and banks, Modiji is saying use plastic instead of paper,” he said.