Opposition stands united against demonetisation; Congress calls it tax terrorism

NEW DELHI: All major opposition parties today, including Congress AAP, BSP, SP, CPI(M) and TMC upped the ante against the government’s demoentisation scheme and one by one slammed the move. Congress went a step further calling it "tax terrorism".

Congress asserted that the country will not run through political jumlas or crocodile tears and further added that an "autocrat" PM Narendra Modi has overnight converted people's money into a waste piece of paper.

Congress spokesperson also asked the government whether Jan Dhan accounts are being used to turn black money into white.

Taking a dig at PM Modi, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said, "PM Modi took blessings of Sharad Pawar to fight against black money, no irony can be bigger than that." The PM had shared the stage with Sharad Pawar in Pune yesterday.

Arvind Kejriwal also informed that the Delhi government has called emergency session of Delhi assembly tomorrow to discuss the crisis arising out of demonetisation.

Meanwhile BSP supremo Mayawati also questioned the intentions of Modi's demonetisation decision by alleging that the BJP got its volunteers in trains without tickets for Ghazipur rally held today.

BSP chief said that the government earlier brought in a legislation of land acquisiton which was an anti-farmer move and passed muiltiple ordinence in that regard. But the ordinance lapsed and they never got the support for the bill in Parliament. Demonetisation is also one such anti-farmer move, she added.

Not only the opposition but BJP’s ally in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena also disapproved the government's move. "The demonetisation move has led to financial anarchy," read the editorial in Shiv Sena’s mouthpiece ‘Saamana’.

UP CM Akhilesh Yadav also targeted PM Modi, and said "Now, PM says it will take another 50 days for things to normalise, earlier he said a week."

West Bengal CM Mamta Banarjee said, "This will be killer for the common people. Already a staggering Rs 1.5 lakh crore of GDP has been lost to the economy in only six days.”

CPM's Sitaram Yechury said, “PM Modi himself in 2014 said that 90 per cent black money is stashed abroad, he has list of those names but not making them public.” He further added that no one carries bags to fund terrorism, it is more via online transfers.

The Congress, TMC, RJD, JD(U), CPI, CPI(M) and some other opposition parties are holding a strategy meeting ahead of parliament session to raise the issue in the Parliament.