BENGALURU: Several workers’ unions, including CPI(ML)Liberation, Garment and Textile Workers Union, Bangalore Jilla Beedhi Vyaapaari Sangahtenagala Okkuta, National Hawkers Federation, New Socialist Alternative, Karnataka Tamil Makkal Aikyam, NCHRO, Karnataka Janarogya Chaluvali held a protest at the Reserve Bank of India office in the city against the Centre’s demonetisation move.
A press release said, “The demonetisation goes on in one hand and PSU banks are being made to waive the loans of the rich on the other hand. We condemn this anti-people government’s move. We believe this demonetisation is nothing but a political gimmick to hide the failures of the central government while also stealthily moving to a corporate controlled digital economy, the implications of which are neither studied nor discussed. The demonetisation which has been done in violation of the RBI Act is not only anti-people but also illegal. The way the Modi government has over-ridden the RBI, a statutory independent institution only shows this Prime Minister’s dictatorial attitude. No one knows what other ill-conceived moves are lined up next.”
A few protesters were detained when they tried to barge into the office premises. The protesters demanded that `500 denomination notes be issued faster and to extend the deadline to submit old notes so that common people do not suffer, make public the complete list of Indians who have accounts in Swiss banks, Panama and other tax havens, make public the list of corporates that have caused public sector banks to accumulate non-performing assets of more than `7.5 lakh crores and to recover the money from them immediately.
“The fact that even as crores of people are suffering, Congress and BJP politicians shamelessly attended the wedding of Janardhan Reddy’s daughter only shows their lack of commitment to fight the evils of black money,” the release said.