“The Govt is acting like a salesman. They have started selling products. They have started selling plastic cards,” Banerjee said in a Twitter post.
“This is a desperate attempt to divert from the main issue. They are making more than a blunder a day #DeMonetisation,” she said.
Banerjee’s comments came shortly after Jaitley’s media conference in which he underlined series of 11 measures designed to increase the pace of digital payments towards ushering in a cashless economy.
Among the measures, payment by card for petrol and diesel will enjoy a discount of 0.75 per cent.
Customers will be getting a higher discount on digital payment as all central undertakings will ensure that the transaction fee and merchant discount rate charges are waived on such payments.
Suburban railway monthly and season tickets bought through digital payment will get a 0.5 per cent discount, effective from January 1, 2017, beginning with the Mumbai suburban railway network.
Jaitley also announced that online payment for public sector insurance companies (life insurance and general insurance) will get 10 per cent discount for general insurance and 8 per cent discount for life insurance for new policies sold.
Slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mamata Banerjee held him responsible for the chaos in the country post demonetisation and said he has lost his moral right to continue in his11 post.
“He has to take the responsibility as he had misled the country without any planning. He must clarify to the nation (about the situation). He has lost his moral right to continue as the Prime Minister of the country.
“They neither took the right decision nor took any expert opinion. Parliamentary parties were not taken into confidence. Everything is done in secrecy as if he is some Ali Baba. He should know he is occupying a constitutional post.”
“They keep on changing the narrative. First, they said black money… and now they are citing cashless and digital transaction,” Banerjee said.
Further, she said demonetisation hit the entire economy – from the jute industry to tea plantation to the e-commerce sector.
Banerjee said in the third quarter, the economic growth would fall two percent and the country would lose “Rs 3 lakh crore”.
“Why should the country suffer due to a sudden decision of a person? There is no team work and it is a one man show. A dictator show is going on and we are deeply concerned,” Banerjee said.
She said there were no banks in 92 percent of villages while the centre was talking about digitisation.
“The country wants to know why the demonetisation move was undertaken. Why the country has lost its Gross Domestic Product? Who is the beneficiary? The currency is not yet available after one month of demonetisation,” she said.
She also said there is no development work going on.
“I was sitting idle yesterday (Wednesday) without any work. Workers are laid-off and about 5 crore workers lost their jobs,” Banerjee added.
“More than Rs 12.65 lakh crore was deposited. Where is black money?” she said.
Banerjee also said the demonetisation drive has been a mystery.
“The situation has deteriorated over the one month of demonetisation. What have the Finance Minister (Arun jaitley) and Reserve Bank of India’s governor (urjit Patel) done?” she asked.
RJD chief Lalu Prasad also demanded to know if Prime Minister Narendra Modi will resign if the cash crunch situation did not normalise in 50 days.
Noting that Modi had sought 50 days to deal with the demonetisation effects, Lalu Prasad said nearly a month had passed and only 22 days were left for the 50-day deadline.
He asked if Modi would quit if the situation did not normalise.
Lalu Prasad said sensing the flop show over demonetisation, Modi had shifted his agenda from black money to cashless economy.
The former Bihar Chief Minister asked Modi to explain who was responsible for the 90 people who died while in banks and ATM queues or committed suicide due to factors linked to demonetisation.
“The PM has neither time nor sympathy for them.”
He said Modi knew well that only 20 percent of the country could deal with a cashless economy and called it “another jumla to divert people’s attention from demonetisation’s bad effects”.
“Modiji, this country is not made of metro cities only. Your dangerous experiment forced on the economy has created a life and death situation in rural India,” he said.
Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray said the problems of people had increased a month after the demonetisation decision and peoples’ voice was not being heard.
“I had neither opposed the decision nor supported it. I had just said that common people should not suffer. However, the problems are increasing day by day. It is unfortunate that people’ voice is not being heard in Parliament,” Thackeray said here, adding that his party had not softened its stand on the issue.
Thackeray, who was scheduled to meet Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, told reporters that the Shiv Sena was not a part of the demonetisation move, though a partner in the government.
“We are not economists. Economists such as Dr Manmohan Singh, Amartya Sen opposed the demonetisation decision. They said the decision was wrong. So should we say that their degrees are bogus? Prime Minister has promised (things will be normal in) 50 days. Let us wait for 20 more days, Acche din aayenge (good days are ahead),” he said.
He highlighted the point that there were incidences of terror attacks even after the surgical strike.
Referring to a BJP leader’s comment that demonetisation queues are a test of patriotism, Thackeray said: “I would like to ask if the government is going to give pension to those in queues outside banks and ATMs since they are being hailed as patriots.”
Asked about the compensation of Rs 2 lakh being given by the Uttar Pradesh government to the kin of those who died in queues, he said: “All state governments should start similar compensation scheme.”
Reacting to senior BJP leader L.K. Advani’s displeasure over non-functioning of Parliament, Thackeray said that his opinion in this matter should be heeded.
“Advaniji is an experienced leader and oldest among us all. The government should take his opinion seriously,” he said.
He also asked the government to make its position clear if farmers will be made to pay tax in the future.
“I do not know if farmers have been taxed so far. However, now you (centre) have asked them to put their money in the bank and put restrictions on the withdrawal. We just want to know if farmers will have to pay tax in the future,” Thackeray said. (IANS)
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