Mamata Banerjee has vowed to take her protests on currency ban to other cities.
Mamata Banerjee, in the second edition of her street protests in Delhi over the government's currency ban, today threw a dare. "Let's see how well the BJP does in the upcoming elections," said the West Bengal Chief Minister who has taken a frontline position in the opposition's attack on the government.
She has vowed to take her protests to other cities, including Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's parliament constituency in Uttar Pradesh, where elections will be held soon.
Ms Banerjee noted that today at 8 pm it will be 15 days since Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his sudden announcement abolishing the high value notes to battle corruption and black or untaxed money. In that time she assessed, "desh ka barah baja diya (the country has gone to the dogs)."
If she was in the PM's place, the Chief Minister said, she would've "apologised to the people for the grave crisis that he has caused to the common man and would withdraw the ban." The poor, she said have been denied access to their savings amid the cash crunch after the demonetisation took away 86 per cent of the money in circulation.
"How will they eat food, pay for medicines, education," asked Ms Banerjee, insisting that her protest is "not about elections."
She has however linked her party's sweep of by-elections in West Bengal yesterday to what she called a "people's revolt" against the notes ban.
The ruling BJP says its "excellent" performance in three states in the by-elections is a signal that people support PM Modi's tough reform despite the hardships it has caused them because they believe it holds long term benefits for them and punishes the corrupt.
Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress is part of a united opposition offensive over the ban on 500 and 1000 rupee notes in parliament. The opposition parties have disrupted parliament since the winter session began, demanding that the Prime Minister explain the notes ban in the Rajya Sabha.
Present at Mamata Banerjee's protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar today were Sharad Yadav of the Janata Dal United, and four lawmakers of the Samajwadi Party, including actor turned politician Jaya Bachchan.