Thousands of Congress workers, under the leadership of DPCC president Shri Ajay Maken, take part in the protest march against the anti-people policies and faulty implementation of demonetization, from Jantar Mantar to RBI office.

• Thousands of Congress workers, under the leadership of DPCC president Shri Ajay Maken, take part in the protest march against the anti-people policies and faulty implementation of demonetization, from Jantar Mantar to RBI office.
• Police lathi-charge and detain over 20,000 Congress workers as they surge towards the RBI office.
• Delhi Congress submits a memorandum to the RBI office in Delhi.

NEW DELHI, Jan 18—Thousands of Congress workers, under the leadership of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Shri Ajay Maken, today took out a protest march from Jantar Mantar to Rerserve Bank of India office at Parliament Street, demanding that the Modi Government remove curbs on withdrawal of money, and stop taking  service charges  for cashless transactions, as part of the second phase of the Jan Vedna campaign of AICC’s pan-India protests outside 33 RBI branches across the country.

Thousands of Congress workers across the city gathered at the protest march to gherao the RBI office, but they were stopped by the police before they could reach the RBI office. Over 20,000 people were detained at a barricades erected  by the police as they surged towards the RBI office. Police also  lathi-charged  the demonstrators. Later, a Delhi Congress delegation submitted a memorandum to the RBI office in Delhi.

Besides Shri Ajay Maken, prominent others who addressed the protest marchers were AICC leaders Shri Ahmed Patel, Shri Anand Sharma and Shri P.C.Chacko. Promient others who participated in the protest march were  Dr Raghubir Singh  Kadiyan, ex-MPs Shri Sajjan Kumar, Shri Mahabal Mishra  and Shri Ramesh Kumar and former Delhi Minister Dr Narendra Nath.

The Congress workers carried placards and banners with slogans such as “Cash Len-Den Par Comission Band Karo; Apna Paisa Nikalwane  Se Pabandhi Hato”, “Modi Teri Hitler Shahi Nahi Chalegi, Nahi Chalegi…Paisa Hamara, Adesh Tumara, Nahi Chalega, Nahi Chalega”,  ”Garib Virodhi, Narendra Modi” etc.

Shri Ajay Maken, in his address to the demonstrators, said the whole country has been instabilised due to the messy implementation of the demonetization drive, which has rendered lakhs of people unemployed,  driving  them back to their villages. Shri Maken said the Congress party’s protest against the faulty implementation of the demonetisation drive will be taken to every nook and corner, which is being carried out at the direction of Congress president Smt. Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Shri Rahul Gandhi.

A memorandum was also submitted to the RBI office in Delhi on behalf of Shri Ajay Maken. In the memorandum, Shri Ajay Maken noted that “an unwitting decision of ‘demonetisation’ has pushed 125 crore people of India into a web of humungous problems and difficulties”. He further added that India’s ‘wheel of development’ has come to a standstill as crores of people are linining up in front of banks and ATMs for the past 70 days by giving up their day-to-day livelihood. He said “what is tragic is that these never-ending lines are for withdrawing one’s own hard-earned money”.

“Demonetisation has turned out to be a surgical strike on India’s poor, farmers, labour, shopkeepers, small businessmen, middle class and the entire unorganized sector. An autocratic Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, bloating over the arrogance of numbers, and a captive RBI, has plunged the country into a state of “economic anarchy”, wiping out people’s earnings and creating a colossal sense of fear and  insecurity”, Shri Maken elaborated in his memorandum.

Though Shri Modi had claimed that things will normalize within 50 days of demonetization, people are still waiting for the “Achhe Din” which Shri Modi had promised.

Shri Anand Sharma, addressing the Congress workers, said due to the faulty implementation of the demonetization drive, the whole country has been unsettled, and it is for the first time in the history of the country that an elected Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi  has taken an autocratic decision like demonetization. He said due to demonetization, such a situation has arisen that crores of Indians have to beg for their  own money. Shri Sharma said Shri Modi had said while announcing demonetization that the decision would end black money in the country, end terrorism, and banish counterfeit notes, but nothing  has happened on all three fronts.

Shri Anand Sharma said 86 per cent of the currency which was demonetized, belonged to women, farmers and Government employees, and wanted to know whether that money was black. He said the demonetization announcement by Shri Modi was such a mistake which no other  Indian Prime Minister had committed. He said Narendra Modi has not only insulted the country, but also women, farmers, labourers and youth. Shri Sharma said Shri Modi had also promised that after coming to power, he would bring back the black money stashed abroad, and Rs 15,000 would be deposited in the accounts of each citizen.

Shri Ahmed Patel said in today’s march towards the  RBI office, besides Congress workers, ordinary people also participated, which shows that the people  have gathered to show the problems and difficulties faced by people due to the faulty implementation of the demonetization drive. He said due to the faulty implementation of Modi’s demonetization, the common people of the country  had to stand in front of  banks and ATMs for hours together to withdraw their own money. In the process, many lost their  sons, their  brothers and their fathers.

Shri Ahmed Patel said the Reserve Bank of India was neither the personal property  of  Shri Narendra Modi nor Shri Urjit Patel, whereas the RBI belongs to the people of the country. He said that the RBI is functioning as the puppet of the Modi Government, whereas it is independent and a constitutional organization. Shri Patel said that Shri Raghuram Rajan, the former governor of the RBI, had to leave to save his honour. He said that RBI comes with new notifications every day, and thus misleading the people of the country. He said that Modi is the first Prime Minister who has betrayed the people of the country, as Shri Modi is there to support the rich people, whereas the poor and the labourers are even unable to live peacefully.

A  memorandum on demonetization on behalf of DPCC president Shri Ajaya Maken was given on behalf of Delhi Congress, which was received by  Shri A.K.Mudgil, DGM, on behalf of the RBI. This memorandum was handed over by senior Congress leader Shri Chattar Singh, Shri Om Prakash Bidhuri and district president Shri Mohammed Usman. A copy of the memorandum was also pasted outside the gate of the RBI office in Delhi. Copy of the memorandum is enclosed.