UDF to observe black day over currency crisis

Thiruvananthapuram: The United Democratic Front will observe Thursday as black day in protest against the negative attitude of Central government in addressing the shortage of currency notes.

UDF workers will wear black flags and stage a protest demonstration before the Accountant General’s Office here.

Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala said in a press release that true character of the government was visible in it marking the poor, who queue up before banks for exchange of demonetised note, with indelible ink while writing off loans of millionaires.

The State Bank of India had taken off loans totalling Rs. 7016 crores, as unrecoverable amount, from its balance sheet.

The Opposition Leader said that the government was not sincere about checking black money. Information about demonetisation had been leaked to party leaders and those close to the BJP. If the government was sincere, it should have first recovered money from those who had cheated the banks.

Mr. Chennithala noted that the former BJP Minister Janardhana Reddy had spent Rs. 500 crore for the wedding of his daughter in Karnataka when there were restrictions on withdrawals from banks.  “Did Mr. Reddy queue up before banks? “

KPCC President V. M. Sudheeran announced that Congress workers would march to the Raj Bhavan on November 21 in protest against the difficulties caused to the public on account of demonetisation. The situation had not eased even eight days after the announcement of demonetisation.

The KPCC president said that protests would also be organised at district Centres on Monday. The stir would be intensified if the problem were not addressed.

He recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that Indians had slashed Rs. 80 lakh crores abroad and this would be brought back and credited to the bank accounts of people.  He had promised that each would get Rs. 15 lakhs. Mr. Modi had resorted to demonetisation to escape from embarrassment on account of his failure to bring back black money and to divert attention from his anti-people policies.