Maharashtra: NCP Takes to Streets Against Demonetisation

Mumbai: NCP on Tuesday held a statewide "janakrosh" agitation to highlight the hardships being faced by common people since high-value currencies were demonetised by Central government in last November.

Senior party leaders, legislators, office-bearers and NCP workers participated in the demonstrations held in various cities across the state and at district and taluka levels.

Workers held demonstrations in Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Raigad, Nashik, Ahmednagar, Jalgaon, Satara, Sangli, Solapur, Kolhapur, Latur, Aurangabad, Beed, and Osmanabad.

Addressing a rally in Pune, former deputy chief minister, and senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assurances on curbing corruption, black money, inflation etc. "have not been proved true after 61 days of demonetisation."

Ajit, the nephew of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, alleged that various sections of society including farmers, labourers and the poor have been badly hit by the note recall.

He accused the government of taking the decision arbitrarily.

"After this decision, they (government) said inflation will come down and black money will come out. My question is has inflation has gone down or has black money come out?" Ajit asked.

In Bhor taluka in Pune district, party MP Supriya Sule led the protest, wherein NCP workers carried out a mock funeral of an ATM machine, saying the farmers, labourers and common people in the country have been severely hit due to "failure" of the demonetisation move.

NCP workers staged protests outside nationalised banks in all eight Assembly constituencies in the district.

As per a statement issued by the NCP, state unit chief of party Sunil Tatkare and its Mumbai unit president Sachin Ahir led the demonstration at Kherwadi in suburban Mumbai.

Tatkare said demonetisation had failed to achieve results and the common citizens, farmers, small traders, labour class have been devastated due to the cash crunch.

In Pune, Congress too held protests against demonetisation in the presence of senior party leaders Harshvardhan Patil and Vishwajeet Kadam.