Law Kumar Mishra
Patna : RJD president Lalu Prasad on December 17 appealed to all opposition parties in the country to unite against demonetisation. He held PM Narendra Modi responsible for the current economic chaos in the society.
Addressing a meeting of the party workers at his 10, Circular Road, residence, Lalu said he would personally meet all the senior opposition leaders after December 28. He appreciated TMC president and West Bengal CM Mamta Banerjee supported his stand. Lalu said the RJD will stage dharna at all districts headquarters on December 28 and a massive rally would organised at Patna at a later
date when all top opposition leaders would be invited.
He said different stands on demonetisation among the Grand Alliance partners was causing confusion and concern. He was referring to support to demonetisation by JD(U) president and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar. The RJD is against the prime minister’s decision. Lalu made a public appearance after a long gap as he is not keeping well.
Lalu warned the BJP it would meet the same fate over `notebandi’ (demonetisation) as Congress lost the 1977 Lok Sabha elections after `Nasbandi’ ( (forced sterilisation) during emergency. Lalu said the party workers have given feedback that people were angry with the BJP as they faced currency note crisis even in their routine works. He asked the party workers to activate the commonmen to join party’s agitation against demonetisation. All MPs, ex-MPs, legislators and presidents of district units attended the meeting.
Lalu alleged PM Narendra Modi was indifferent to the sufferings of the commonmen who were made to stand outside banks and
ATMs for hours, but return disappointed as the banks and ATMs remain empty.
Modi had asked people to have patience for 50 days, but now they are being told it will take months.”There is economic anarchy,” he said. The RJD president said PM Modi has committed a fraud on the nation by demonetisation which has proved a farce. Finance minister and senior RJD leader Abdul Bari Sidiqui said, ” The situation is grim. Demonetisation has helped big industralists while commonmen have been denied even Rs 2,000. Modi had said on November 8, demonetisation was aimed at preventing flow of
money to the terrorists and unearthing black money, but now he has changed his stand and claiming it was aimed at leading the nation
towards digital money.”
Party leaders alleged two different stands on demonetisation among the Gran alliance parties was creating confusion and JD(U) stand of supporting the prime minister on the issue was against the alliance formula. The parties in GA should present a common stand on the issue, “said Jagdananad Singh, former minister. There should be one slogan and single policy, said Lalu’s son and deputy chief minister Tejeshwi Prasad Yaadv. He claimed the mission of Modi has failed as there is no check on black money.