Didi steals the show at ‘Opposition’ presser

Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee became the star attraction on Tuesday when a number of Opposition leaders chose to stay away from the media interaction organised by Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi and designed to present a united front against demonetisation.

While the BJP referred to the packed press conference, which was addressed by leaders of the Congress, the TMC, the DMK, the RJD, the JD(S) and some regional players as a “flop show”, Rahul pressed on with his allegations, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of kickbacks, while the West Bengal Chief Minister focused on how the country had been “pushed back ten years” by demonetisation.

BJP leader and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asserted that the “bubble of Opposition unity has clearly burst”. Prasad described that the anti-BJP congregation as a “comical” event, “given that the chief protagonists collected by Rahul Gandhi represent humongous scams such as 2G, coal, Antrix Devas, Saradha, fodder scam (sic)”.

“Rahul Gandhi’s party is the biggest patron of the corrupt and corruption. While the whole country supports the PM in his anti-corruption drive, we now know why some of these leaders are so agitated. Just how seriously Rahul Gandhi is taken is evident from the fact that no one else in that press conference repeated his allegations against the PM. It is now clear that Rahul Gandhi’s utterances lack credibility and he himself lacks maturity,” said Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Terming demonetisation a mega scam, Banerjee described it as a sample of Modi’s acche din, which had affected all sections of people. The West Bengal Chief Minister said the decision was taken to help big corporate houses who owe money to banks. “The Centre is taking money from the poor to help the corporate houses to pay back their loans,” Banerjee said. “The federal structure has been destroyed by this government. Parliament was not taken into confidence. It’s a super Emergency,” she said.

Earlier, Rahul Gandhi said the Prime Minister was responsible for the “arbitrary economic experiment” on the people and said the Congress would put pressure on him to resign if he fails to explain the benefits of the decision.

Reiterating his charges of corruption against Modi, he said the Prime Minister was silent on the ‘Sahara diaries’, a reference to documents allegedly in possession of tax authorities. “Four of our ministers and BJP leader LK Advani resigned when the diary of Jain mentioned their names. Why is the Prime Minister is reluctant even to hold an enquiry?” he asked and added that former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, whose name also figures in the ‘Sahara diaries’, is ready for a probe.

Probed about the absence of a number of Opposition parties, he said building unity was a process. “We don’t insist like the Sangh parivar that everyone should talk the same language,” he said.