Demonetisation: Parties slam Centre for economic emergency'

New Delhi: As a united Opposition attacked the Narendra Modi government in Parliament on Wednesday for creating an “economic emergency” in the country and making preparations “in the air” for the aftermath of its move to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, the government asserted it was a “war on corruption and black money”.

Comparing the problems faced by people as temporary “prasavvedna (labour pain)”, the government claimed it would provide long-term gains to the common man. On the first day of  the Winter Session, a united Opposition not only attacked the government over the demonetisation issue in the Rajya Sabha but also sought a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the alleged selective leak of  information (on the demonetisation) before the announcement by the Prime Minister.

In the Lok Sabha, minutes before the House assembled for the day, Prime Minister Modi and his senior Cabinet colleagues, including home minister Rajnath Singh and parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar and his deputy S.S. Ahluwalia, walked up to the Opposition benches and exchanged pleasantries.

Mr Modi was seen exchanging pleasantries with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and other party leaders, including AIADMK’s M. Thambi Durai, the deputy speaker, and he also enquired about the health of Tamil Nadu CM J. Jayalalithaa.

The Congress, JD(U), RJD, SP, BSP, TMC, Left parties and the AIADMK attacked the government for its “ill-conceived” and “ill-timed” decision.

No information leaked, reiterates Centre
The government rejected as baseless the Opposition’s charge that there was “leakage” of the November 8 decision and said that everyone was taken by surprise, which is why there were some “initial” problems. BSP supremo Mayawati said if the government had been preparing for the last 10 months before it announced its demonetisation decision, why was it asking for 50 days more for the situation to normalise.

“You only prepared in the air... if you had prepared in advance, the PM would not had to do the emotional dramebaazi (in his Goa and Ghazipur public speeches) ... nor would his mother had to stand in queue (for cash),” said the BSP chief, and added that the decision and the timing of its announcement was an indication that the BJP was in “bad shape” ahead of the coming Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh. She also thanked BJP ally Shiv Sena for sharing the Opposition’s views on the government’s action.