Demonetisation will be the end of Modi, says Hindu Mahasabha

AGRA: Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being anti-Hindu, senior members of Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha have said that the Centre's demonetisation move would be the beginning of the end of his rule. The saffron organisation alleged that the policy had been introduced just before the start of the Hindu wedding season while BJP members were encouraging Islamic banks in the country.

Questioning the government's currency move, Mahasabha's national general secretary Pooja Shakun Pandey said the purpose of the scheme is yet not known. "Poor people, those who earn Rs 200-300 every day or those who survive on paltry government pensions, are the ones who are suffering. The move doesn't seem to have made an impact on the rich," she said in Aligarh.

"Besides, it was announced just before the Hindu wedding season. Thousands of families were forced to borrow money from their friends and relatives, some others had to postpone, curtail or even cancel the ceremonies. At the same time, leaders of the so called Hindutva party were busy promoting Islamic banking in the country," she said.

Pandey was referring to Sholapur's BJP MLA and Maharashtra cooperation minister Subhash Deshmukh who launched the country's first sharia-compliant Islamic banking service in Sholapur in September. At the Lokmangal Cooperative Bank Ltd, controlled by Deshmukh, interest-free deposits will be accepted from both Muslims and non-Muslims and distributed largely to the needy from the minority community at zero rates of interest to ensure their financial inclusion.

Alleging that Modi's "Hindutva" mask was now off for all to see, a Mahasabha member said, "Demonetisation would eventually lead to de-Modi-tisation of the country."

Mahasabha's members also accused Modi of trying to garner support for "fake" surgical strikes. Its UP spokesperson, Ashok Kumar Pandey, said, "Cross-border terrorism has gone up. Our soldiers are dying in border skirmishes every day. The surgical strikes, if there were any, haven't done the country any good." Taking on "aggressive" Modi supporters, Pandey said, "They have created a fear psychosis in the country by branding all those opposed to PM's policies or ideas as 'anti-nationals'. That leaves common people who are hugely inconvenienced by the cash crunch with no other choice than hailing the move."