KOLKATA: The Trinamool Congress and Left parties held separate protests outside the Reserve Bank of India office in Kolkata today as RBI Governor Urjit Patel held meetings inside.
Trinamool ministers and legislators marched from the state Assembly to the RBI office opposite Writers Buildings and questioned the rationale behind the demonetisation announcements while exhorting the RBI Gvernor to take responsibility for the decision on notes ban.
West Bengal Women and Child Development Minister Shashi Panja said, “Why are our farmers suffering? Do they have black money? Mamata Banerjee has spoken out against this anti-people decision and we will continue to raise our voice.”
Senior Trinamool Minister Sovandeb Chatterjee told NDTV, “The RBI Governor is acting like at the behest of the Prime Minister. We have sought time from him but he is refusing to meet other elected representatives like us.” Hitting out at the Prime Minister, Ms Panja said, the PM has won only 31 per cent of the vote in the elections but has declared the rest of the country anti-national for opposing him.
Earlier in the day, at least 150 Left supporters gathered at the RBI shouting slogans against demonetisation as they say there has been inadequate preparation against the move.
Left Front Chairman Biman Bose told NDTV, “The government took this decision without any preparation. RBI wasn’t prepared for printing new notes. Subsequently the government issued a notice of demonetisation and that has created an enormous problem.”
“The hard earned money of depositors are locked away and they are suffering. And this not only for a few days but months together. This is cannot be discussed on the streets but it has to be discussed on the floor of the Parliament but there also they are not allowing a detailed discussion,” said Mr Bose.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool has been vociferous in its opposition to Prime Minister Modi and the manner in which demonetisation has been implemented.
