Marketing of demonetisation of ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes as yet another “surgical strike” by the BJP, was countered with a strong alternative narrative by opposition parties who feel that the general sense of insecurity and chaos far outweighs the emotive pitch of the ruling party campaign around the ban on widely-used currency notes.
Opposition dividedA critique of the measure was thus put forward by the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, Trinamool Congress and the CPI (M), a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the ban.
While some, such as Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed support for the move, insiders in these parties too, felt that even if it is difficult to take a position that counters measures against corruption, political implications of this decision will eventually not be favourable to the BJP.
A number of leaders
It will also contain the BJP’s election campaign equally, considering that the sudden announcement by the PM took even the party insiders by surprise.
“Besides restricting the cash flow in elections, which is different issue, this is not strikes against Pakistan for which people can cheer from the sidelines. This is a move that directly hits people where it hurts. The BJP can try and create a movement against black money through Baba Ramdev but it is difficult to excite the common man when his legitimate income has been de-legitimised,” said a senior leader whose party has officially backed the PM.
Former Finance Minister and Congress MP P Chidambaram recounted how successive governments had considered and dismissed demonetisation as an effective measure against curbing black money. Predicting that the immediate fallout of the decision will be “economic contraction”, Chidambaram said the consensus among successive governments has been that the “economic gain is much smaller as compared to the inconvenience caused”.
Given this understanding, the Opposition was on the front foot, even at the risk of being labelled “anti-national”, a narrative that the ruling party had successfully created around questions raised by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal and Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi about the surgical strikes across the LoC.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was the first off the block, calling the move “draconian” and demanding that the PM rescind it with immediate effect.
“Please save people from this disaster. Roads are closed, markets shut, patients not being admitted to private hospitals, millions affected. Chaos everywhere!” Banerjee said in a statement. Claiming the “poorest of the poor and the middle class are crying”, she said: “This is like an all-India unannounced strike. Those who hoard large amounts of black money will be protected… I once more appeal to the Centre to withdraw this hasty decision. First do a plan of action and only then do proper implementation. This is a complete disaster.”
The AAP, a party that has emerged out an anti-corruption movement, was even more forthright. “This is a move greeted with enthusiasm by the likes of BS Yeddyurappa, Sukhbir Singh Badal and Sharad Pawar.
Obviously, it affects neither the big fish nor their supporters in the political parties. The Centre has a list of Panama Papers. It has a list of corrupt industrialists and their cronies from foreign banks. But they will not act nor will they reveal their names. They will not act against Vijay Mallya or Lalit Modi. They will not bring back black money from offshore accounts. But they will ban ₹500 and ₹1,000 that will cause unspeakable hardship to common people,” said AAP leader Sanjay Singh in a press conference.