Congress workers to gherao RBI today
SHILLONG: The Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee said on Tuesday the Centre’s demonetisation move has diluted statutory bodies like the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and that the central bank is now susceptible to corruption.
Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, who was addressing the media on Tuesday after a party meeting that focused on the ‘Himalayan Blunder on Demonetisation’, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s move, which proved “his bankruptcy of ideas”, was to facilitate a few business houses.
“Is it the RBI Governor or Prime Minister Modi taking the decision as the RBI governor’s action poses a threat to the nation,” he said and added that with demonetisation, even fake currencies came into the system helping the enemies of the country.
Sangma observed that there was no quick fix solution to the problem of corruption and the UPA government, during its 10-year regime, had brought 10 laws to fight the menace. “Now banks and income tax establishments are vulnerable to corruption,” he said.
Deploring Modi for his comment “Garib chen ki neend so rahe hai aur ameer neend ki goli le rahe hai (the poor are sleeping peacefully and the rich are under the spell of sleeping pills),” Sangma said the Prime Minister was trying to divide the nation between rich and poor.
“We condemn this speech and this is unexpected from the Prime Minister of the country,” he added.
Earlier, former MP from Arunachal Pradesh Takam Sanjoy said people in the North East are worst hit as 70 per cent of the population does not have access to banks.
Sanjoy pointed out that India’s economy has slowed down due to demonetisation and prior to November 8, 2016, the GDP growth was anticipated to be 8 per cent and today it has come down to 6.6 per cent after demonetisation. “We are afraid that the GDP will further go down to not less than 5 per cent by end of this month.”
As a mark of protest against demonetisation, the Congress will gherao the RBI office in Shillong on Wednesday and the party has also invited NGOs to take part in the programme since the exercise of demonetization has affected everyone in the country.
“Only the Congress can unite the country whereas BJP is trying to divide it,” Sanjoy said.