Worse is yet to come: Manmohan Singh on note ban

January 11, 2017

New Delhi, Jan 11: Amid fears of a decline in the country's GDP, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh cautioned the people today that the worse was yet to come in the wake of demonetisation which he termed as a "disaster".

manmohan1

At a convention called by Congress on demonetisation, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram claimed there was no record of the Cabinet meeting of November 8 when the government had said to have taken the decision to withdraw Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.

In his address at the 'Jan Vedna' conclave, Singh termed demonetisation as a "disaster" and said things were going from bad to worse and that the worse was yet to come. He dismissed as "hollow claim" Prime Minister Narendra "Modi's propaganda" that things have started looking up.

The former Prime Minister said it was the "solemn duty" of all Congress men to tell the people the wrongs that have been done by Modi and that a "clarion call" should be given to the countrymen to "awake and rise" up in protest.

Both Singh and Chidambaram said there would be decline in the country's gross domestic product (GDP) because of demonetisation. Chidambaram, in his address, said there is no record of the Cabinet meeting of November 8. "Where is the Cabinet note? Where is the Cabinet decision?" he asked.

He said that never before in India's history such a farce has been enacted. The former Finance Minister also said that the reputation of RBI is at risk today.

The government and the central bank generally have differences but never before a government has treated RBI like a department of the Government of India, he added.

He said that even one per cent decline in GDP will lead to a loss of Rs 1.5 lakh crore to the country. He said every challenge thrown by Modi government should be matched by the Congress with utmost courage and utmost wisdom.

"Only Congress party can stand up to this (challenge)." The party also issued a statement at the convention that the Prime Minister must reveal what percentage of the demonetised currency notes was black money as practically all the demonetised notes have been deposited in banks.

"This exposes the hollowness of the government's claims. The PM is masquerading as a crusader against black money and corruption after having singularly failed in fulfilling his promises of retrieving the unaccounted wealth and money stashed abroad," it said.

The party said India's image has been tarnished by projection that the Indian economy was primarily based on black money.

"It is also a matter of concern that during the 50-day period of 'notebandi', an unholy nexus of certain corrupt BJP leaders, black-marketeers and bank officials were shown to be operating by various media channels, indulging in illegal conversions of stockpiles of currency," the party said.

It said for the corrupt black money holders, the back door of banks operated, while the common man waited for his turn in lines at front doors.

In the statement, the Congress also demanded an impartial and independent inquiry into charges of personal corruption against Modi when he was the chief minister of Gujarat.

"Why has the Modi government not conducted an investigation into this serious charges of corruption for 31 months despite availability of evidence? Why is PM Modi not coming forward to conduct an independent probe in the matter if he has nothing to hide?" the statement said.

On demonetisation, the party said Indian economy has been "disrupted, derailed and it is in a shutdown mode" and that millions of workers in farming and construction and in other sectors have lost jobs and employment.

"The Prime Minister remains unmoved and in denial even when tens of millions of people have been forced to stand in queue before banks and ATMs for nearly 60 days. The promised amount of currency notes has not been made available," the statement said.

"The Congress party expresses its serious concern that investment sentiments remain depressed, the investment rate is negative and the gross capital formation has fallen in real terms."

The ground realities contradict the hype and claims of high GDP growth, it said. The Congress said the blame of pushing the Indian economy into the abyss lies squarely with the Prime Minister and the BJP government and that the party condemns the government for "inflicting immense suffering and hardships" on the people.

The party also condemned "escalation of atrocities on dalits, adivasis and minorities and the violent attack on the poor who have raised their voice of protest in many parts of the country".

"It is deplorable that persons occupying positions of responsibility in the government and in the ruling party have encouraged and endorsed the actions of individuals and organisations responsible for these incidents and acts of violence," it said.

The Congress also accused the BJP dispensation of apathy towards the farmers, agricultural and manual workers and said that there has been acute distress in the agrarian sector.

The party also accused the government of "undermining the established institutions of governance, centralisation of authority, arbitrary partisan decisions, abuse of power and misuse of government agencies to target political opponents, critics and institutions".

"Congress party warns the government that its undemocratic methods and acts to curtail liberty, freedom of expression and violation of fundamental rights of the citizens as enshrined in the Constitution will be strongly resisted," it said.

Comments

Noor
 - 
Wednesday, 11 Jan 2017

Mohanji ache din is coming for modiji mallyaji and those people who are having black money in Swiss bank

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 26,2024

scam.jpg

Mangaluru: Officials from Cyber Economic and Narcotics Crime Police Station in Mangaluru have arrested a man for allegedly engaging in an online fraud by deceiving a person on the pretext of offering a part-time job. The arrested is Saddam Gauri alias Bavuri, 30, from Rajasthan.

City police commissioner Anupam Agrawal said the CEN police received a complaint regarding an online scam related to a part-time job offer.

Police registered a case under sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the IT Act, along with IPC Section 420. The complainant had received a link via WhatsApp from an unknown number, purportedly offering a part-time job opportunity.

Upon clicking the link, the complainant was instructed to complete certain tasks to earn money. However, during the process, the complainant incurred a loss of Rs 1.1 lakh.

Following an investigation into the matter, the CEN police successfully arrested the suspect and presented him before the court. In the course of arrest, police seized two mobile phones, eight debit cards, four bank cheque books, Aadhaar card, PAN card, and other relevant documents from the accused.

The arrest was made possible through the efforts of CEN station inspector Shyam Sundar and his team, under the guidance of City Crime Records Bureau (CCRB) ACP Ravish Nayak and DCP Siddharth Goyal.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 27,2024

hdkprajwal.jpg

Hassan: Former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda has announced that his son, former Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy will contest from state's Mandya parliamentary seat as NDA candidate.

Deve Gowda told reporters on Tuesday that the decision to field Kumaraswamy, who is also JD(S) state president, in Lok Sabha polls from the Mandya seat was taken amid mounting public demand. "People are demanding that Kumaraswamy should contest from Mandya. In the core committee meeting as well, all members suggested that he should contest from Mandya," Deve Gowda said.

The former Chief Minister's son Nikhil Kumaraswamy had lost to independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh from Mandya in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The JD(S) supremo further said that the name of senior leader Mallesh Babu has been finalised from the Kolar seat.

Deve Gowda's grandson and former Karnataka Minister H. D. Revanna's son sitting JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna will be contesting as the NDA candidate from the Hassan seat.

Earlier in the day, Kumaraswamy in a media briefing indicated that he would contest from Mandya amid mounting public pressure on him.

Congress has fielded Venkatarame Gowda popularly known as ‘Star Chandru’ from the Mandya seat dominated by Vokkaligas. Star Chandru is a close associate of Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 27,2024

DKSiddu.jpg

Gokarna (Uttara Kannada): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Wednesday said the Congress will decide about making him the Chief Minister in future, bringing to the fore again the issue of leadership change.

There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for the Chief Minister's post after the Assembly election results in May last year, and the Congress had managed to convince the latter and made him the Deputy Chief Minister.

There were some reports at the time that a compromise had been reached based on a "rotational Chief Minister formula," according to which Shivakumar will become CM after two-and-half years but they have not been officially confirmed by the party.

During a temple visit here, a priest prayed that God's blessings may be showered on Shivakumar, and he became the Chief Minister.

Speaking to reporters here in Uttara Kannada district, Shivakumar, who has in the past made no secret of his ambition to become Chief Minister, amid speculations of change in guard mid-way of the Assembly term, responded to talk in some political circles about the leadership issue.

"What's wrong if a priest expresses his desire before God while praying? The priest has expressed his desire. Now Siddaramaiah is the Chief Minister, I'm working as Deputy Chief Minister under him, also as party's state President. People speak about it and desiring it (Shivakumar should become CM) is a different matter, it will be decided by our party," Shivakumar said.

"Now we are all working under the leadership of Siddaramaiah, and our desire is that the state should progress further under his leadership," he said.

"There will be people including supporters and priests, who pray for us, they will express their opinion. Can we stop them from doing it? At the temple it is between God and his disciple, they have expressed their feelings to God," Shivakumar added. 

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.