BENGALURU: Twenty days since the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, things are yet to fall in place. For the common man, the shortage of new currency, especially that of Rs 500, is painfully evident and many of the ATMs are still closed. BJP general secretary Ram Madhav, who was in the city on Sunday, shares his thoughts.
There has been criticism that this could have been better planned. Do you agree?
We are sorry that some inconvenience has been caused. Having said that, when you embark on a major exercise, it is bound to cause some inconvenience. But the people understand that and those who are criticising this move are basically shifting goalposts. First they said the move is economically bad. Then they said the implementation is bad. When things started falling in place, they complained that Rs 2,000 notes are available, but Rs 500 notes are not. Sadly, those opposing the idea are not ready to accept the fact demonetisation is a panacea for the ills plaguing our economy. Actually, they got no time to hide their things. The government needs to take action in a manner that will elicit maximum results.
How will you convince Opposition parties?
The Opposition is in Parliament and in TV studios, but not among the people. People are largely supporting the idea. They are fed up with corruption, money hoarding, fake currency notes which affect day-to-day life. They have enormous faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is because they see in him a leader without any self-interest. Even if it involves some difficulties, the country is ready for it because they believe whatever he is doing is for the good of future generations.
How do you break this stalemate?
The Opposition has every right to voice its protest. But they are stalling Parliament and not discussing even when the government is saying it is ready to discuss the matter. This is because they do not really have anything to discuss about demonetisation, so they find one reason or the other to stall Parliament proceedings. They have climbed the tree and now they don’t know how to climb down.
They are even ready for a Bharat Bandh.
I do not know whether it is Bharat Bandh or, as some are saying, Aakrosh Divas. Mamata Banerjee says there is no bandh. Siddaramaiah said the Congress is not supporting any bandh. The inside joke is that even if they want to organise something like a bandh, there is no money to organise it due to demonetisation.
Yeddyurappa attended the extravagant wedding of Janardhan Reddy’s daughter. Doesn’t it send a wrong message when the BJP is talking about weeding out corruption?
I am not aware of who attended the wedding. A lot of leaders from all parties attended. Maybe you should get the full list and then ask me. I cannot comment on who attended the wedding and who did not. Who attends the marriage is not the business of the media. I do not have anything to say about it.