The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has slammed former prime minister Manmohan Singh for his sharp criticism of the Narendra Modi government on the demonetisation move, saying that he should have kept his own house in order as prime minister in the UPA government.
“Manmohan Singh is considered one of the top economists, but what did he do in the two terms of the UPA government as prime minister? Most of the black wealth was generated during this period, with a series of high-profile scams, and he was at the helm of affairs. Wasn’t that an organised loot of the nation’s wealth?” asked J Nandkumar, Akhil Bharatiya Sah Prachar Pramukh of the RSS.
Breaking his silence after a long period, Manmohan, during the debate on demonetisation move in Rajya Sabha on Thursday, alleged that the NDA government’s plan of scrapping high-value currency notes had led to “organised loot and legalised plunder”.
“There’s no politics behind the action taken by the Modi government against counterfeit currency and black money through this demonetisation move. Modi took this courageous decision not as a politician but as a reformist, who’s looking at the next generation, and not at the next election,” Nandkumar told Firstpost.
The Sangh Parivar has already given its thumbs-up to Modi’s demonetisation move both in its internal meetings and on public platforms.
In an official statement issued by the RSS Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh Manmohan Vaidya (a copy of which is reproduced below) mentions, “The decision taken by the government of India to demonetise high-value currency notes is in national interest and with the honest intention of setting in motion cleaner and transparent monetary transactions and practices in the country. Its impact is being felt everywhere.”
Hailing Modi’s decision of scrapping high-value legal tenders to combat counterfeit currency and black money menace, the RSS has simultaneously appealed to the public to cooperate and support the government in the demonetisation move.
However, the Sangh has also admitted that the move has caused inconvenience to the people across the country.
“I had been with (Mohan Bhagwat) for over a week after the move was announced. He appreciated the demonetisation move, but showed his concern about the problem people have been facing due to the implementation bottlenecks. But, let’s not forget that the magnitude of the move is so big and it’s a first-of-its-kind initiative by the government. So, it becomes very difficult to have fool-proof implementation,” a senior Sangh pracharak closely monitoring the move told Firstpost.
Even Vaidya in his statement said, “We appeal to the people to cooperate and support the government in this noble endeavour, irrespective of the temporary but unavoidable inconvenience being caused.”
Sharply criticising the voices of dissent and without naming anyone in particular, Nandkumar said, “These ivory tower intellectuals, the so-called liberals, who have no connection with the common man have opposed the move. Like in 2014, after Modi became the prime minister, they spread canards against him saying, ‘Bharat is not Gujarat’. Despite facing problems and cash crunches, the ordinary people are ready to suffer temporarily and have supported the decision, unlike those who live in ivory towers.”
Following demonetisation, the nation has witnessed a major hullabaloo over the move both in the public domain and in the Parliament. A single move united the Opposition parties across the spectrum — even forcing die-hard opponents Trinamool Congress (TMC) and CPM to join hands in an unprecedented move to launch a scathing attack against the Modi government.
Interestingly, a day before the prime minister’s monumental announcement (8 November), the Congress-led UDF in Kerala had opposed the ruling CPM-led LDF, when the latter had initiated a move in the state Assembly to audit the accounts in the cooperative banks due to charges of rampant corruption. But the tables turned the very next day and the foes of Kerala found themselves joining hands against Modi.
“LDF and UDF joined hands to protest demonetisation, exposing their hypocrisy,” the RSS deputy chief of publicity and communication added.
However, the RSS has also made it clear that it doesn’t interfere in government policies and decision-making, but supported demonetisation as it’s in the interest of the nation.
Courtesy: Firstpost
