New Delhi: A month after demonetisation led to unprecedented cash crunch in the country, opposition leaders yesterday flayed the note ban but Prime Minister Narendra Modi vehemently defended it.
"I always said that the government's measure will bring a degree of inconvenience but this short-term pain will pave way for long-term gains," the Prime Minister said in a string of tweets.
"I salute the people of India wholeheartedly for participating in this yagna against corruption, terrorism and black money," he said. "The decision has several gains for farmers, traders, labourers who are the economic backbone of our nation."
"Together we must ensure that India defeats black money. This will empower the poor, new middle class and benefit future generations," Modi said.
Modi announced demonetisation on the night of November 8, saying it was meant to fight black money, corruption, fake currency and terror funding.
The opposition observed a "black day" yesterday with a protest near Mahatma Gandhi's statue inside the Parliament complex to mark one month of demonetisation.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi said the currency spike was not a "bold but a foolish decision". And the Paytm - an e-wallet service - meant "Pay To Modi".
"It is an experiment conjured by the Prime Minister on individual basis, and every expert who had an opinion about this pushed aside and the Prime Minister took this so-called bold decision,"
Gandhi said. "But bold decisions can also be a foolish decision and this was a foolish decision, and it has devastated this country."
CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury agreed, calling demonetisation a "man-made disaster" and saying it had only made the rich richer at the cost of the poor.
