Demonetisation: Government ready to hear ‘scholarly arguments’ of opposition

Anandrao Adsul (Sena) said his party has welcomed demonetisation as it was necessary to phase out old currency notes to remove fake currency, black money which were supporting terrorism.

The demonetisation, since the November 8 announcement, has triggered chaos across the country with people continuing to line up outside banks and ATMs in interminably long queues.

Due to the uproar, the House was adjourned for the day, just after noon. Earlier today, more than 200 MPs came together to protest against the ban on Rs 500 and 1,000 and raise slogans near Gandhi statue near the Parliament in New Delhi.

The Prime Minister posed questions like, Do you have any suggestions/ideas or insights you would like to share with PM Narendra Modi.

“You have not been allowing the debate to take place, you have been asking for the presence of the Prime Minister”.

Speaker refusing to give us debate; Question is not whether PM sits there, question is are we being allowed to speak? Both, the Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and BSP supremo Mayawati asked why he was unable to say anything on the floor of House, while he was speaking on demonetisation outside the Parliament time and again. As they shouted slogans from the Well, Kurien said, “You can not speak in the Well”.

To this, Yechury said, “Take consensus of the house”.

This came after railway minister Suresh Prabhu made a statement in the lower house about the Indore-Patna Express derailment, in which at least 142 people have been killed. And if you don’t, then remember – the Congress once had imposed Emergency and people had given a befitting reply.

Both the BJP that does not have a majority in the Rajya Sabha as also the Congress have issued the respective whips to their MPs in the House to remain present in the House for the next three days as the resolution on which the demonetisation debate is going on entails voting at the end.

Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandopadhyay said the Prime Minister does not belong to a party but to everyone and he should listen to the opposition. While Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad has allegedly visited the Trinamool Congress office to discuss details of the dharna on Parliament premises, Mamata Banerjee has her own plans of holding a dharna at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. “That is why we are opposing the implementation of the demonetisation”, said AIADMK leader in Rajya Sabha A Navaneethakrishnan.

NDA ally Shiromani Akali Dal’s Prem Singh Chandu Majra said the government’s “courageous” decision to ban currency and tackle black money was being praised within the country and overseas.

In a bid to reach a compromise, parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar called a meeting of select opposition parties on Thursday morning. “Modi has sought public opinion on his mobile application in a country where 40 crore people are illiterate”, said Owaisi.