KOCHI: Criticising Finance Minister Thomas Isaac for his statement against the withdrawal of high-denomination currencies, BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav on Thursday alleged that the remarks revealed the LDF Government’s anti-poor and anti-working class stance.
“I am sorry to say that,” said Ram Madhav who was in the city as part of an initiative by his party to interact with workers at the grassroots level. Earlier, Isaac has posted on his Facebook page that the abrupt withdrawal of high denomination currencies was an unnecessary political drama by the Modi Government. While he clarified that he was not against any measure to eliminate fake currency and black money, the Kerala FM had said that the hardships the ‘drama’ caused to the general public could have been avoided.
“The declaration by the Prime Minister was measures to unearth black money and prevent the flow of fake currency to the country. I would like to know which side of the democracy the Kerala Government is. Is it with the poor or the money-launderers?” wondered Madhav.
He added, “I think, irrespective of the political differences, it is the responsibility of the State Government to stand with Modi in this regard.”
On his own controversial remark terming Kerala a ‘black money state’, Madhav said he was not talking against the State. “I was blamed for insulting Kerala. Let me clarify that I was speaking against black money, not against the State. There have been news reports that black money and fake note circulation are rampant in Kerala,” he added.
Justifying the PM’s decision further, he said the country was moving towards an era of currency-free transactions. “This will make sure that only accounted money is transacted here. However, we cannot think of an economy that is totally currency-free. That is the reason why the government has rolled out the `,2000 currency,” he added.