Note ban: PM Modi silent on gains, hints pain may last little longer
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a well-attended public rally in Kanpur, the precursor to what many expect to be his game changing rally in Lucknow on January 2. The Lucknow public rally will come at the end of his promised 50 days of “pain” of note ban. He had earlier promised that days of pain would lead to “gain” for the public. However, the PM on Monday seemed to be suggesting that the pain might last a little bit longer, and he didn’t for once utter the word “gain” in nearly an hour long speech, and exhorted people to be willing to suffer inconveniences for a few more days for a brighter future of the country. The PM railed against the Opposition for not letting Parliament function, for obstructing his fight against black money and corruption and for lying and trying to mislead people. Modi said India, post-Demonetisation, was divided into two halves – a small minority of politicians trying to protect black money, corruption and dishonesty, and the other half comprising the hardworking and honest poor and middle classes of the country who are fighting this battle to reclaim their right.
The PM said he congratulated the Election Commission for having demanded from political parties to come clean on their donations. He said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) welcomes the move, and he had requested at the ‘all party meeting’ before the winter session of Parliament to have a discussion on making political donations transparent. Taking a dig at the Congress party’s lack of commitment to stopping black money, the PM said that party had a treasurer Sitaram Kesri, about whom Congress leaders themselves said how he didn’t maintain any accounts of donations received by the party. “Na khaata na bahi, jo Kesri kahe wahi sahi,” the PM said, adding this is how the Congress conducts its politics. Modi said that added to clean political donations is also the question of holding assembly and Lok Sabha elections once every five years, as frequent elections not only halt development but give play to use of black money. “I again request the Election Commission to take forward discussions on these two issues, convince other political parties. My government is committed to these,” he said. The PM also spoke at length about the reward scheme for those buyers as well as shopkeepers who make use of digital transactions, about his government’s efforts at electrifying villages in the state, the lawlessness of the Samajwadi Party rule and the succour provided by his government to sugarcane farmers. But much of his speech seemed to be asking the public to be ready to face some more hardships. Modi pointed to the large amounts of cash being caught as evidence that his government’s fight against black money is on the right track. “Had you ever seen this much cash being caught,” he asked people. Modi said he understood that people have suffered immensely because of note ban, but this was for a brighter future of the country. “You have suffered not for your personal gain but for the interest of the country,” the PM said. The PM said he had warned on the day he announced the scheme that there will be difficulties for 50 days, and after that the inconvenience will start decreasing. He asked people to bless him to succeed in this “purification of the country” and that the country was near a decisive victory in its fight against corruption and black money. The PM ridiculed the Congress questioning his effort at a “less cash economy”. The Congress, he said, claims that Rajiv Gandhi brought computers and mobile phones to India, but claim that people have no mobile phones when I talk of digital banking. “They lie and mislead people incessantly,” the PM said.
Article By: - Business Standard