Opposition parties demand PM Apology over remarks on Black money against them

The remark later caused an uproar in both Houses of the Parliament as the leaders of Opposition demanded an apology from the Prime Minister.

“The PM said “some people” are upset as they didn’t have time to hide their black money, why is Opposition taking offence”, said BJP MP Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.

Seeking the Prime Minister’s presence in the House, Opposition members said he should make statements inside the House and not attack them outside.

PM Modi attended parliament on Thursday where opposition leaders, including his predecessor Manmohan Singh, sharply criticised the government’s sudden abolition of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes on earlier this month. Yesterday, Singh had said in the Parliament that, “Monumental mismanagement has been undertaken in implementation of demonetisation”. When asked why he had used strong terms like “organized plunder” and “legalized loot”, Dr. Singh said, “Well that is what the common people feel, they feel that way”.

Striking rhetoric, Singh said he would like to know from the Prime Minister, in which country where people have deposited their money in their banks but have not been allowed to withdraw.

Chairman Hamid Ansari and deputy chairman P J Kurien failed to break the stalemate and kept adjourning before calling it a day at around 2:30 pm. On November 8, the government demonetised the higher value currency notes to curb “black money and corruption”.

“The Prime Minister should come here; debate will take place things will get cleared”.

“Who doesn’t want to remove black money from the country”.

On Friday, there was pandemonium in RS as a united Opposition which is stronger in the Upper House sought an apology from the PM for his remark that the Opposition was in favour of black money.

However, after a week of acrimonious exchanges over the demonetisation drive, when Parliament finally started debating the contentious move, the house saw at least two moments when Prime Minister Narendra Modi, making a rare appearance in Rajya Sabha, chuckled. “They have a problem that they didn’t get time to prepare”, the PM said. Members of nearly all the Opposition parties trooped to the well of the Rajya Sabha demanding an apology from him.