Modi waging war against poor: Rahul on demonetisation

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi today stepped up attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on demonetisation, saying his vision of a cashless economy has rendered the poor "cashless", robbing them of their hard-earned money.

Gandhi accused Modi of "waging a war" against the poor of the country through his announcement on the night of November 8. The measure has enabled the conversion of black money into white, he charged.

Gandhi alleged that the BJP government has "blocked" the money of the poor through currency ban to favour a "handful of industrialists" and to liquidate banks that have extended loans worth "Rs 8 lakh crore" to them.

Addressing a gathering at a wholesale market here, he said, "The Prime Minister has brought honest people on the streets while the rich and the corrupt are taking money through the backdoor of banks.

"It was done to ensure that the poor deposit their money in the banks, which will be used to repay the debt of around Rs 8 lakh crore owed by these industrialists to the banks. Modiji's wants the money of the poor to remain in the banks for the next six to eight months," he said.

Rahul said the measure will "injure" the country. He also accused the Prime Minister of shifting goalposts over the issue by listing the objective of the measures ranging from unearthing black money to curbing counterfeit currency.

"Only 2 paise out of Rs 100 is counterfeit. Two days after Modiji made the announcement, terrorists, after they were slain, were found having new currency. Then he says he will make the economy cashless. He has made it cashless indeed, with the poor having no cash," he said.