NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi termed demonetisation a tragedy saying it destroyed millions of lives even as the Congress demanded PM Modi’s apology on the first anniversary of the controversial move.
“Demonetisation is a tragedy. We stand with millions of honest Indians, whose lives and livelihoods were destroyed by PM’s thoughtless act,” Rahul tweeted.
To score a political point in PM Modi’s home state, Rahul visited Surat in Gujarat and met traders who have been affected by noteban. “Their backs have been broken,” said Rahul.
The Congress vice president also wrote an article in the Financial Times of London where he said PM Modi’s reform agenda had actually hurt the economy.
“It has destroyed not only India’s growth story, but has also rendered crores of people jobless as businesses have shut down. That is something that Prime Minister should apologize for,” Congress communications department chief Randeep Surjewala said at an AICC briefing. “But it seems that the Prime Minister of the country is so drunk with arrogance of power that he is refusing to see reason,” he said.
Congress state units staged protests in Delhi, Mumbai, Bhopal, Bengaluru to mark the first anniversary of noteban as black day. Indian Youth Congress (IYC), Mahila Congress, Seva Dal and NSUI also joined the protests across the country. “Demonetisation was called by the PM as a game changer but it has failed completely and only contributed to the misery of people,” Youth Congress chief Amarinder Singh Brar said.
Highlighting the plight of women, Mahila Congress president Sushmita Dev said noteban had wiped off their small savings.“Small savings were destroyed by Demonetisation. Is legitimate cash saved in households by homemakers Black money,” said Dev.
Surjewala said the day also marked the anniversary of the 150 people who lost their lives due to noteban.