The Congress on Thursday (December 29) demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologise to the nation for the ‘suffering’ caused to the people by the note ban when he speaks on New Year's eve and vowed to hold countrywide protests from January 6.
In its bid to step up the attack on the Modi dispensation, the Congress will hold a series of programmes including press conferences and demonstrations across the country on the issues of demonetisation and ‘personal corruption’ of Prime Minister.
Attacking Modi, who is set to address the nation after the end of the 50-day period he had sought from the people to ease their problems due to cash crunch, Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said that Modi is good at making announcements that are far from reality.
‘It is a surgical strike on the country's poor and has caused them immense suffering," Surjewala said at a press conference in Jaipur.
Congress leader Meem Afzal said the Prime Minister ‘has so far not had a word of sympathy for the victims, forget about an apology’.
‘But we expect him to apologise when he speaks on the issue at the end of the 50 days he had sought,’ he told reporters in Srinagar.
‘Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to create two crore new jobs every year but only 1.5 lakh jobs have been created in two and a half years. After announcing demonetization last month, at least 10 crore people have been rendered jobless,’ he claimed.
Starting on January 1, top Congress leaders will hold pressers at all district headquarters to be followed by similar conferences at the district level across the country on January 2 and 3.
Thereafter, it will hold meetings of the Pradesh Congress Committees and and the party workers will gherao various district headquarters on January 6 and 7.
This will be followed by ‘thali pradarshans’ at block level to be organised by Mahila Congress workers on January 9.
The programme was finalised at a meeting of top party leaders on December 26 chaired by Rahul Gandhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi while announcing the decision to invalidate 500 and 1000 rupee notes on November 8 had said there would some inconvenience to people for the initial 50-day period that ends on December 30.
