Rs 1.28 lakh crore lost due to note ban: Mamata

Stepping up her attack on the Prime Minister, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday called him “a bad politician and a worse administrator” who is spreading lies and relaxing even as the common people continue to suffer.

“Modi ji has lost all credibility. A bad politician and even worse administrator. He is lying,” she said in a tweet.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief, who is at the forefront of the Opposition attack against the Modi government on the issue, said: “All opposition is united, and you are divided!”

In a later tweet, Mamata said: “People are suffering so I appeal to all to help citizens and stand by them at this hour of crisis. In Delhi at the meeting of Opposition parties, a bandh was never discussed or agreed to. We do not support any Bandh .” She also said that there will be no bandh or Akrosh Diwas on November 28. In protest of the note ban TMC will hold a Pratibaad rally (Protest rally). She added that the Opposition parties, mainly Congress has termed the November 28 protest as Akrosh Diwas. TMC will organise the Pratibaad rally on November 28 and march from College Street to Dorina Crossing.

She also claimed that Rs 1.28 lakh crore had been lost forever due to the scrapping of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes.

“Shocking that Rs 1.28 lakh crore has been lost forever due to note-ban only in ‘transactions’ in the country, according to CMIE, a top research body. World-famous Moody’s says ‘note ban will badly disrupt economic activity’,” she tweeted.

“Common people are suffering miserably while Modi ji is relaxing and spreading lies,” she said.

Meanwhile, the effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was burnt at the intersection of Raja Bazar by Trinamool Congress supporters who were protesting against demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes and the subsequent ordeal faced by ordinary citizens.

The party on Friday held agitation programmes in all blocks of the state. There were rallies followed by meetings which were addressed by district leaders.

In Raja Bazar, hundreds of people representing all walks of life joined the rally. Sheikh Anwar, a carpenter, said he did not have any work for the past 10 days. “The owner of the house in Ballygunge where I was working told me to suspend work for the time being. I have money to buy food till Sunday and I really do not know what I am going to do after that” he said.

Piyal Chowdhury, a Trinamool Congress leader, said hundreds of workers in Raja Bazar and the neighbourhood have no work for the past 10 days. “Many of them are masons or used to work in a leather factory as casual workers. Their employers have told them not to come to work for the time being. Where will these people go?” he asked.

Meanwhile, the problem of the common people continues as most of the ATMs remained closed and the functioning ones had only Rs 2,000 notes. There were long queues outside the banks and people had to wait for at least two hours on an average to withdraw money from their accounts.

Anindita Paul, a housewife, who came to the SBI’s Bhowanipore Branch said she had to withdraw money for some urgent work but for the past two days she returned empty handed as no cash was available with the bank. “The government has taken us for a ride. It is unfortunate that to withdraw my own money I have to stand in a long queue,” she said.

Sanjay Kampany, a businessman who was standing in the queue in front of a private bank, said: “I have become a supporter of Mamata Banerjee. She was the first leader in the country to say that demonetisation would not help weed out black money and common people will be in trouble. What she had predicted on November 8 after high value notes were demonetized has happened.” Trinamool Congress will organise a rally on Monday from College Square to Dorina crossing. Party supremo Mamata Banerjee will participate in the rally.