On the first note ban anniversary, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said demonetisation was a “decisive battle” that 125 crore Indians fought against black money and won, an ex-serviceman became the means for the BJP and the Congress to take on each other.
The ex-serviceman, Nand lal, was photographed crying apparently in despair in a long queue in November last year and was projected as the face of hardship people faced in the aftermath of the move. In fact, the former soldier was quoted by news agencies as saying that he was crying as someone had stepped on his toes.
It was lal’s picture that Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi tagged in his tweet to attack the Government. But the BJP got back at him after lal went public praising the demonetisation move.
Across the country, the BJP marked the day as an Anti-Black Money Day, while the Opposition observed it as a Black Day.
In a series of tweets, the Prime Minister said he “bows” to the people of India for supporting the measures taken by the Government against corruption and black money and also posted short films on his twitter handle to highlight the benefits it brought.
He said the move formalised the Indian economy and ensured better jobs for the poor, while cleansing the financial system. He even asked people to participate in a survey that is available on the Modi app to send him feedback on how they feel about the Government’s efforts “to uproot corruption and black money.”
For his part, Rahul came up with yet another poetic dig at the Centre, tweeting in Hindi that even a single tear spelt danger for the Government and one has not seen an ocean coming out of the eyes.
He tagged the 2016 picture of lal crying. “Demonetisation is a tragedy. We stand with millions of honest Indians, whose lives and livelihoods were destroyed by the PM’s thoughtless act. Ek aansu bhi hukumat ke liye khatra hai, tumne dekha nahin aankhon ka samundar hona,” he tweeted.
However, lal, who lives in Gurugram, was quoted by news agencies as saying, “I welcome the Government’s decision. According to me, this demonetisation drive brought much relief from terrorism. These notes were made in Russia because the country is a friend of India. America is nothing, just a friend of Pakistan.”
Following his praise of the Government’s move, the BJP hit out at the Congress vice president with BJP president Amit Shah tagging lal’s latest interview in which he came out in support of the note ban decision.
Attacking the Congress, the BJP chief said it has always grabbed power with false portrayal of the poor but it was no longer possible to dupe the country with “false tears and false pictures”.
“The real face of the Congress has been unmasked and a new India has emerged,” the BJP chief tweeted in Hindi with his own poetic barb at Gandhi. Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said Rahul is turning Indian National Congress into “Indian Fake News Congress”.