Terming the government’s decision to demonetize high-value currency notes as imposition of an "undeclared economic emergency" in the country by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BSP supremo Mayawati today alleged that the government move was an attempt to divert attention of voters in Uttar Pradesh from the failures of the NDA government.
"Just before UP elections, Modi has realised the problem of black money after remaining in the saddle at the Centre for two-and-a-half years. Ninety per cent people are unhappy with this decision," she told a press conference here.
She said poor people and farmers have been badly hit by high denomination rupee ban decision.
"It (the decision) is not in the interest of the people, it is in self-interest," she said, reminding people of the dark days of Emergency imposed by then Congress government.
Had Modi been honest in his approach, he would not have waited for two-and-a-half years to take action against black money, she said.
"It is being said that the decision was taken by Modi after making his party economically strong by helping industrialists and capitalists to harass people.
"Centre has not thought about the poor and the way in which people formed serpentine queues at petrol pumps shows their connivance with the government for earning a quick buck," she said, adding people will punish BJP for this.
Claiming that the decision to ban notes was taken in haste, Mayawati said it triggered chaos all over the country with people coming out on roads in panic on Tuesday night as if an earthquake had hit them.
"People from Kashmir to Kanyakumari are feeling harassed due to the sudden move. By terming it a surgical strike, BJP president Amit Shah is doing 'andh-bhakti' (blind support) on Modi," she said.
"Had it been a raid on 500 or 1000 capitalists, it could have been termed as surgical strike and would have been appreciated," she said.
On Centre's recent voluntary income declaration scheme, Mayawati said Gujarat and Mumbai people were most benefited by it and asked the Centre to disclose names of beneficiaries.
"The black money government collected from this scheme should be utilised in welfare of dalits and backwards. There is no visible difference between previous Congress-led government and the present BJP government as both are anti-people," she said.
"The problems of unemployment, price-rise and atrocities on dalits and minorities have increased and RSS men were targeting them," she alleged.
Mayawati claimed that though Modi belonged to upper caste, when he became Chief Minister he included his caste in the OBC category to take the advantage of the category.
The BSP chief released a booklet and CD of her speech at a rally in Lucknow on October 9 and said it would be distributed throughout the state.
(With PTI inputs)
