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Modi's demonetization move result of vanity,incompetence: main opposition

Xinhua, December 2, 2016 Adjust font size:

Indian main opposition Congress party's second-in-command Rahul Gandhi on Friday again took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over demonetisation, saying he has become a prisoner of his own image.

The Nehru-Gandhi scion said that the prime minister has been indulging in "TRP politics" and has forced "a catastrophic experiment" on the country in demonetization as a result of his own "vanity and incompetence".

"Modi is more interested in TRP politics. Congress has never given India a prime minister who was a prisoner of his or her own image. We never gave India a prime minister who bypassed the experience of those sitting in institutions," Gandhi said in the national capital.

"The country has suffered tremendous damage as a result of the vanity and incompetence of our prime minister," he said while chairing a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party in the absence of his mother and party chief Sonia Gandhi who is reportedly unwell.

Gandhi and his Congress party have been continuously attacking Prime Minister Modi's government since the demonetisation move earlier this month, saying the decision to scrap currency notes of higher denominations has hit the country's poor hard.

The Congress-led opposition parties have also been paralysing the Parliament since the beginning of its Winter Session, first demanding an explanation from Modi on his demonetisation drive and then an apology for saying those questioning the reform are "supporters of corruption and black money".

Modi had on November 8, in a sudden televised address to the nation, announced the scrapping of currency notes of 500 rupees and 1,000 rupees (7.5 U.S. dollars and 15 U.S. dollars respectively) in a bid to curb the menace of black money and prevent the circulation of fake notes among terrorists.

Though the demonetisation move has been widely praised by Indians, but the Indian government has been criticised for inadequate preparations for controlling the fallout of the cash ban. Endit