PM rejects opposition demand for demonetisation rollback

Indian customers queue outside a ATM to withdraw money in Siliguri on November 14, 2016.

However, the op-ed in the Global Times hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his “startling and sudden move” which has created a mayhem-like situation in India causing great inconvenience to millions who could be seen waiting endlessly in the long and winding queues to get old currency exchanged in the banks.

The Prime Minister’s assertion comes in the wake of the all out attack launched by the opposition today, as the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) joined forces in tearing down the scheme of demonetisation. Such a step, for example, was taken when the European Monetary Union nations chose to adopt Euro as their currency.

I think that what PM Modi has done will definitely remove black money, bring more money back into circulation, destroy fake currency which destroys terrorism and increase government revenue.

“I am willing to handle all of this if this will really reduce corruption”, Mr Sheikh said as he blow-dried his sole client’s hair.

Addressing a public rally in Goa, Modi made an impassioned plea to citizens to give him until December 30 to weed out the ill-gotten wealth in India.

“I am doing what I was asked to do by the people of this country. I will expose the history of corruption of 70 years since Independence”.

Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Badal, while supporting the demonetization drive voiced doubt that it will help squeeze out black money from the system in 50 days, and highlighted the hurdles it faced. “But who created the crises?”

The Congress party has dubbed as “hasty and faulty” the Centre’s decision to demonetise high-value currency notes and the Opposition parties are already gearing up to corner the government during the winter session of Parliament.

But on the streets of Delhi and elsewhere in the country, common people continued to bear the trauma of cashlessness for a sixth day after the surprise decision was announced on November 8 night.

Two leading bank unions also criticised the note ban saying it has led to “financial chaos” and the decision was taken “without proper planning or preparation”.

Since that day, for about a week now, serpentine queues at ATMs and banks have been the sights everywhere.

Stressing the need to go cashless in transactions, he said “there is a talk about a cashless society and we should shift to plastic money”.

Micro ATMs would be deployed across the country “to dispense cash against debit and credit cards”.

The government has said the old notes can temporarily be used for essential services such as medical assistance. She had come to exchange notes at the State Bank of India branch in Hyderabad’s Toli Chowki but returned disappointed.

Modi also said that those who were frustrated by his crackdown had now resorted to rumour-mongering to create panic among masses, adding that the recent spate of rumours about salt shortage in various parts of the country was one such example.