One year of demonetization: BJP-Opposition face-off expected

 The BJP and the Congress-led opposition will face off over demonetization on Wednesday when the ruling party observes 'anti-black money day' and the latter a 'black day' to mark the first anniversary of the announcement of the exercise by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

BJP leaders, including many Union ministers, will fan out across the country to highlight the "benefits" of demonetization. On the first anniversary of the exercise. Calling the measure "anti-people", the Congress and several opposition parties will hold protests against note ban in several parts of the country. Unfazed by the opposition criticism, the BJP has claimed demonetization led to a cleaner economy.

Union ministers Nitin Gadkari, Ananth Kumar, Nirmala Sitharaman, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Suresh Prabhu and Smriti Irani will speak to the media in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Chandigarh, Jaipur and Lucknow respectively on Wednesday. Prakash Javadekar will address a press conference in Bengaluru and Piyush Goyal in Ahmedabad. Union minister Jayant Sinha has also been drafted for the exercise, sources said. BJP chief Amit Shah will be in Gujarat. Turning up the heat on the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his government hit corruption and black money hard, making the opposition party angry.