NEW DELHI: The right wing supporters of the Bharatiya Janata party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have joined the Opposition in criticising the government for its decision to demonetise 86% of the currency. “Anti Hindu” is the charge now levelled against the Prime Minister by the Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Mahasabha that has targeted the PM and predicted that this will mark the end of his rule.
The Times of India carried a report quoting the Hindu Mahasabha leaders as saying that demonetisation had not impacted on the rich, but the poor. They further attacked the PM for the timing of the move, saying it had come just before the season of marriages for Hindu’s and thousands of families had to either postpone the weddings, or borrow money for the same.
The Shiv Sena that has been following a see-saw policy on demonetisation has again decided to oppose the government on the issue. After an initially strong attack on PM Modi for this decision, the Shiv Sena went into a less hostile phase, emerging from it now to again sharpen knives with a delegation seeking an appointment with Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel to answer questions as to when the chaos would end, if at all.
Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant said to sections of the media, “We want some clarity on till when are people likely to suffer from this kind of a cash crunch. Even today, there are restrictions on withdrawals. A majority of the ATM machines are not functioning. People were not able to access their salaries this month because of the chaotic cash situation. It is absolutely miserable.”
The Shiv Sena, in an article in its magazine Saamna, further said that the BJP had not won the local polls because of demonetisation, and that the people should not be fooled by this propagnda. The Shiv Sena that had marched with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to Rashtrapati Bhawan in Delhi recently on this issue before developing cold feet, has now again reiterated its resolve to go with her on demonetisation. Its chief Uddhav Thackeray told a meeting that if the BJP could sit with the NCP on the dais, there was no reason for the Shiv Sena to stay away from the Trinamool Congress.
The attack reflects growing concerns by the right wing allies and supporters of the BJP on the impact of demonetisation on the common people. The RSS has not attacked the move, but has kept a grim silence throughout with its mouthpiece the Organiser, staying away from the issue of demonetisation altogether. There is no criticism, but there is no defense as the BJP mentor prefers a wait and watch approach for the moment. As a BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh said, “the Prime Minister has been given all the room he wants to propagate his point of view, we are waiting to see if the tide turns in his favour.”
Currently, the chaos seems to be compounded with Opposition MPs raising the issue of salaries and pensions today. The queues outside the banks have increased, the banks are running out of money, and even old age pensioners have not been able to withdraw the money they need to live. Prime Minister Modi has tried to turn the poor into ‘valiant soldiers’ through his speeches asking for the ultimate sacrifice so that he can get rid of corruption, but this is being cut into rapidly by the Opposition campaign that the tax evaders have got away, and it is the honest person who is being penalised.
PM Modi focused on the money received in the jan dhan accounts, urging the account holders not to return the money to those who had put it there. However,a significant report in the Economic Times clearly suggests that the PM is creating a mountain out of a molehill as his narrative that the poor were being used by black market hoarders who had transferred huge amounts to the Jan Dhan accounts did not stand scrutiny.
The report maintained that as per the government figures it worked out to an average deposit per active account of a “mere Rs 1,442.9 (yes, less than fifteen hundred rupees). There have, however, been some media reports that contended that only about three crore of the active accounts -- and not all -- have seen the surge in deposits after November 9. Even if this were the case, the average deposit per account would be just Rs 9,561.64 (less than 10,000 rupees). The government had, moreover, capped deposits into Jan Dhan accounts at Rs 50,000 on November 15. Put another way, the average deposit in the active accounts was Rs about 1,789 on November 9. This had risen to about Rs 3,232 on November 30. Hardly numbers that should send the taxmen scrambling. “
In Parliament the faceoff between the Opposition and the treasury benches has become increasingly acrimonious with the days, with accusations and charges being hurled at ferious speed. The government remains defensive, with PM Modi staying away from the Opposition dominated Rajya Sabha except for a brief appearance. It has been left to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to face the storm, with the Opposition refusing to pay him any heed as they continue to demand the presence of the PM saying that since the latter had taken the decision without consulting anyone, he should be present to hear the debate and respond accordingly.