While the opposition is demanding for the statement from PM, the ruling party is asking the congress to clarify if they are against the black money or not.
“We are ready to discuss any issue, there is nothing to hide. We want the Congress to clarify, are they with the government decision or not? You’ve got every right to make demands, and the government will reply to it all,” said senior union minister Venkaiah Naidu this morning, before parliament convenes at 11 am.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has instructed her Trinamool Congress to disrupt proceedings in the Lok Sabha, where the government has a big majority, if demonetisation is not debated under an adjournment motion.
The debate will continue in the Rajya Sabha, where opposition parties yesterday demanded a joint parliamentary committee or JPC probe alleging that information about the ban had been leaked to BJP units and “friends of BJP”.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will reply to the debate in the Rajya Sabha today, but the opposition wants the Prime Minister to intervene. They also want a vote at the end of the discussion in the Rajya Sabha, where the government is in a minority.
Opposition parties, except for the Trinamool Congress, have not demanded that the government withdraw the notes ban, but have criticised the manner in which it was implemented causing hardship to common people who have had to queue up for hours at banks amid a cash crunch.
The Congress’ Anand Sharma, who initiated the debate, attacked PM Modi on Wednesday, saying, “Modiji was riding a bullet train in Japan” when the elderly, women and common man were queuing up at banks at 3 am so they could buy basic necessities.
The government has rejected the allegation of a leak of information as baseless and said everyone was taken by surprise by PM Modi’s announcement last week, which explained the “initial problems” in the switch over to new notes.
Union ministers Venkaiah Naidu and Piyush Goyal said the government had taken the radical step in national interest to end corruption and black money. No honest taxpayer would lose a single rupee, while those with unaccounted wealth would suffer, as would terror organisations that had been choked by the currency ban, the government said.
Before the winter session began PM Modi had said he was counting on “good debates” on key issues and hopes the opposition will cooperate to support key legislation like taking the next steps to introduce the national Goods and Services Tax or GST, the biggest tax reform in decades.
