Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee addressed a press conference in New Delhi today after the all-party meet to decide on the future steps to continue the constructive opposition to demonetisation.

Mamata Banerjee had already announced a State-wide ‘Modi Hatao Desh Bachao’ campaign last week, while addressing the media in Kolkata. The eight-day campaign will begin from January 1, coinciding with the foundation day of the Trinamool Congress, and will continue for a week.

At the press conference, Mamata Banerjee said that the Opposition parties are together on the issue of opposing the Central Government on demonetisation.

Regarding the future course of action, she said, “We will make a common minimum agenda on corruption and demonetisation and work together in the future”.

Commenting on the devastating effect that demonetisation has had on the country, she said, “The economy is totally shattered. From exports to MSME, from farmers to labourers to traders, everyone is crying. Tea garden and jute workers are not getting wages. Workers under the 100 Days’ Work Scheme are not getting wages from banks”.

Then, “the tribal people in remote areas, who are the poorest of the poor, are suffering” because transactions in cash have come down drastically.

She said that “banks and ATMs are cashless” yet “the Centre is spending crores on advertisements”.

She gave a suitable retort to Narendra Modi’s war cry of ‘achhe din’ when she said, “Modi ji said he will bring ‘achhe din’ – is this (referring to demonetisation) the example of ‘achhe din’?”

In fact, referring to the Modi Government’s promise of bringing back black money stashed in foreign countries’ banks, she said, “Let them bring back black money from foreign accounts, we will support them”. However, that is not happening.

Mamata Banerjee said that the prolonged pain of demonetisation has hurt people so much that they “are losing faith on banks”. In fact, she accused the Centre of “looting people to pay the NPAs (non-performing assets) of banks”, NPAs which have been mounting day by day over the last few years.

She then came down hard on the “false promises” of the Prime Minister to ease monetary restrictions after 50 days: “Will restrictions be eased after 50 days? Why then did the Prime Minister make false promises to the nation?”

Taking a dig at Narendra Modi, she said, “From a chaiwala the PM has become a fakir now”, fakir indeed in ideas, so much so that demonetisation has “moved the country back by 20 years”.

Referring to demonetisation as a “big scam”, she said that the country, however, “will see through it in the future”. She even hinted at a “hidden agenda” behind the scheme.

Stressing on the fact that an economy can never be totally cashless, a term the Central Government has been using left, right and centre over the last 47 days since demonetisation was announced, the Chief Minister of Bengal said, “Even the America economy is 40% dependent on cash”.

In fact, “in the name of cashless, the Narendra Modi Government has become baseless”, losing its locus standi as the conscience keeper of the nation, as a democratically-elected Central Government must be. As she rightly said, “The Government must lead the people, not instil fear in them”.

The Government has “unleashed its agencies on Opposition parties”. By thus trying to destroy State Governments led by Opposition parties, the Government is “destroying the federal structure of the country”, a system which is constitutionally mandated.

Mamata Banerjee also hit out on the selective help that the Centre has been providing to the States to cope with demonetisation, referring, as an example, to BJP-ruled Assam getting more financial benefits than many other equally or more deserving States, which are ruled by parties opposed to the BJP.

She referred to the currently desperate financial state of the country as “super-emergency”.

She also criticised the Central Government for neither laying a statement in Parliament during the recently-concluded Winter Session on demonetisation nor allowing the Opposition to discuss the issue, grievous offence given that Parliament is the “temple of democracy”.

She demanded accountability from the Government regarding demonetisation. She said, “We want a solution. A hundred and seven people have already died due to the crisis situation brought about by demonetisation. There will be starvation deaths next. Who is responsible?”

Continuing in the vein of accountability, she warned, “If you do not fulfil your promises then people will vote you out”.

She ended her comments by laying stress on the fact that the Opposition parties, including the Trinamool Congress, will “continue the movement against demonetisation as long as possible”; they will not give up.

“Common people”, said Mamata Banerjee, “are not black marketeers. We will keep raising their issues”.

নোটবাতিল বিপর্যয়ের নৈতিক দায় নিয়ে প্রধানমন্ত্রী পদত্যাগ করুন: মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়

নোট বাতিলকে কেন্দ্র করে সারা দেশব্যাপী অর্থনৈতিক অরাজকতার বিরুদ্ধে দিল্লিতে বিরোধী দলগুলির বৈঠকের পর সাংবাদিক সম্মেলনে প্রধানমন্ত্রীর পদত্যাগ দাবি করলেন মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়।

তিনি বলেন, ভবিষ্যতে দুর্নীতি ও নোট বাতিলের প্রতিবাদে বিরোধী দলগুলি একটি যৌথ কর্মসূচি তৈরি করবে কারন নোটবাতিলের ফলে দেশের অর্থনীতি ধ্বংস হয়ে গেছে। শ্রমিক, কৃষক ব্যবসায়ী সহ সকল মানুষ চরম সংকটে।

এই অর্থনৈতিক অরাজকতার প্রসঙ্গে তিনি বলেন, “মোদী’জি বলেছিলেন ‘আচ্ছে দিন’ আনবেন। এই কি ‘আচ্ছে দিন’ এর নমুনা? মানুষ ব্যাঙ্কের ওপর থেকে আস্থা হারাচ্ছে। কেন্দ্র মানুষের টাকা লুঠ করে ব্যাংকের NPA মেটাতে চাইছে। ইতিমধ্যেই এই বিগত ৪৭ দিনে ২০ বছর পিছিয়ে গেছে দেশের অর্থনীতি। চা বাগানের শ্রমিকরা মজুরি পাচ্ছে না।”

তিনি এও বলেন, নোট বাতিল একটি বড় দুর্নীতি। এর পেছনে গোপন কর্মসূচি কি? কেন প্রধানমন্ত্রী দেশবাসীকে জানাচ্ছেন না এই সিদ্ধান্ত নেওয়ার পেছনে আসল উদ্দেশ্য কি ছিল?

প্রধানমন্ত্রীর এই তুঘলকি নীতি কে কটাক্ষ করে তিনি বলেন, ক্যাশলেসের নামে মোদী এখন বেসলেস, ওনার নীতি ও দল সবই এখন ভিত্তিহীন হয়ে পড়েছে।

মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায় বলেন, যে সকল রাজনৈতিক দল এই তুঘলকি সিদ্ধান্তের প্রতিবাদ করছে, কেন্দ্রীয় সরকার তাদের পেছনেই এজেন্সি লাগিয়ে দিচ্ছে। কেন্দ্র যুক্তরাষ্ট্রীয় পরিকাঠামোকে ধ্বংস করছে। সারা দেশে সুপার জরুরি অবস্থা চলছে।

তিনি আরও বলেন, সাধারণ মানুষ কালো বাজারি করে না। তাদের কোনও কালো টাকা নেই, কিন্তু, এই নোটবাতিলের ফলে তাদের চরম দুর্গতি ভোগ করতে হচ্ছে।