Prime Minister addressed BJP lawmakers at a Parliamentary party meeting today
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today levelled charges against two former premiers, his predecessor Dr Manmohan Singh and Indira Gandhi, of ignoring basic steps to fight corruption. Obvious and recommended methods include demonetisation, he told his party's parliamentarians this morning, at a time when his government is being asked to explain the vast cash crunch forged by its sudden cancellation of 500-and 1,000-rupee notes a little over a month ago. The Prime Minister's address to his party lawmakers were made on the last day of this session of Parliament which accomplished close to nothing because of daily disruptions over the demonetisation drive.
Here are the top 10 developments in this big story:
PM Modi said that Dr Manomhan Singh kept stating the need to erase black money and check corruption but "did nothing during his 10 years" in power as the head of the Congress-led coalition government.
The Prime Minister also referred to Indira Gandhi, stating that a report in 1971 strongly urged demonetisation - to which, he said, her response was: "Are there no more elections to be fought by the Congress party?"
The Prime Minister said, "had this (demonetisation) been implemented then, the country would not have been destroyed."
BJP chief Amit Shah ordered all national lawmakers to spend a week in their constituencies propagating the benefits of the decision to cancel high-denomination notes.
The comments from PM Modi and the BJP President come as some within their party have reportedly shared concerns over how the cash crunch that is being felt across the country, especially in rural India, could impact the BJP in the approaching elections early next year in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.
The opposition, which had forged a rare unity to attack the government over causing what it describes as an economic crisis, showed signs of unravelling today after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, along with other leaders from his party, met with Prime Minister Modi.
The session was held for Mr Gandhi to present the concerns of farmers in Uttar Pradesh, who he met during a month-long tour of the state in September.
Angry about the Congress breaking ranks at a time when the opposition has been coordinating a combined strategy, at least four parties including the Left dropped out of a protest that had been planned for today culminating in a meeting with President Pranab Mukherjee.
The notes that were cancelled on November 8 amounted to 86 per cent of the currency in circulation. Nearly 90 per cent of the money has been returned to banks; with days to go before the deadline of December 30 to submit old notes, experts say virtually all the money that was outlawed will be returned, wiping out the government's claim that it would accrue about Rs 5 lakh crore or 73.5 billion dollars of undeclared money.
The Prime Minister's reform has been widely praised for its intent, but faulted for execution, with the new currency being introduced nowhere near fast enough to ease the long lines at banks and ATMs.
