On the anniversary of demonetization, Nand Lal, an ex-serviceman who became the face of the hardships of the note-ban process said that he supported the government’s move.
A year later, while life remains hard for him, he firmly believes that the government did the right thing, which is surely an embarrassment for opposition leaders who are making him the face of their protests.
Nand earns a meagre Rs 8,000 a month but that hasn’t stopped him in from praising demonetization. He told ANI: “Demonetization is a very good step. It has certainly put a lid on terror activities happening in the country.”
Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad hit out at Rahul Gandhi saying: “Rahul Gandhi has tweeted against demonetization by using Nand Lal but Nand Lal has stated on record that he supports Modi Ji.”
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Opposition are facing off as this day rings in the one year anniversary of the demonetisation drive. The Opposition is observing ‘Black Day’ while the BJP is celebrating ‘Anti-Black Day’ to mark the first anniversary of the announcement of the exercise by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BJP workers celebrated the first anniversary of demonetisation by billowing party flags, praising slogans of Prime Minister Modi and by cutting a cake.
‘We are celebrating the freedom of economy. We got freedom from fake currencies, funding of terrorism, black marketing, and the bank system became more strong due to this move. This decision by Prime Minister Modi is historic,’ one of the BJP supporters said. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also attended a signature campaign held in Chennai, which was organised by Tamil Nadu BJP Youth Wing to show their support for the move.
The BJP leaders, including many Union ministers, will fan out across the country to highlight the "benefits" of demonetisation. Prime Minister Modi took to Twitter and thanked people for supporting the government in eradicating corruption on the first anniversary of demonetisation. "I bow to the people of India for steadfastly supporting the several measures taken by the government to eradicate corruption and black money," the Prime Minister said.
On the other hand, the opposition is leaving no stone unturned to keep the pressure on the Central Government. The Youth Congress members at midnight staged a protest against Prime Minister Modi's note ban move in front of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in Delhi.
Today evening, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi will participate in a candle-light vigil in Gujarat's Surat as part of "Black Day" protest and will interact with the traders. On November 8, 2016, the Centre declared Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes as illegal and introduced new Rs. 500 and Rs. 2000 notes.
With inputs from ANI
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