Rahul slams demonetisation on its anniversary, calls it decision by `PayPM to help 2-3 billionaire friends

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over demonetisation, saying it was a deliberate move by ''PayPM'' to ensure that two-three of his billionaire friends could monopolise India's economy.

Speaking during his Bharat Jodo Yatra in Maharashtra later in the day, he also dubbed the November 2016 decision as an ''attack'' on farmers and small and medium businesses. The Congress has often used 'PayCM' and 'PayPM' jibe at the BJP to allege corruption under its rule at the Centre and in states. It is a play on the digital payment platform PayTM. Gandhi's attack came on the sixth anniversary of demonetisation. It was on this day in 2016 that Prime Minister Modi announced the decision to withdraw Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination notes with the stated aim of reducing corruption and black money.

''Demonetisation was a deliberate move by 'PayPM' to ensure 2-3 of his billionaire friends monopolise India's economy by finishing small & medium businesses,'' Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

Later, speaking at Biloli in Maharashtra's Nanded district during his Bharat Jodo Yatra, the Congress leader said demonetisation and the 'faulty' implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) wrecked the backbone of those who provide employment, that is, farmers and small-and-medium businesses.

“The fact is that note-ban was not a move for eliminating black money. It was an attack on small merchants, small and medium businesses and farmers. Every poor person is reeling under that impact even today,” he said.

The Congress, meanwhile, also demanded a white paper from the Modi government on demonetisation.

''The government failed in its objective to make India a digital, cashless economy as the currency with public stands at a new high of 30.88 lakh crores as of 21 October – almost 72% higher than 6 years ago,'' the party said in a tweet.

At the gathering in Nanded, Gandhi also alleged that education and healthcare systems are being privatised. The Modi government and the state government are handing over the entire system to just ''two-three people'', he said.

The entire public sector is being privatised, the Congress leader claimed.

“Note-ban and GST have closed one road, privatisation has closed the other (for the youth),” he said while talking about unemployment in the country.

“The youth in the country can go to schools and colleges, get educated, but they will not get employment. They spend years studying engineering, (but) they don't become engineers, they end up as labourers, drivers. This is India's reality,” he said.

The BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh turned the fear created by this situation into hatred, Gandhi further claimed. “There can be no hatred without fear. If there is no fear then there can be no hatred. If there is fear, then that can be easily converted into hatred. This is happening in India,” he said. Unemployment, inflation and hatred are not going to benefit the country, he added. Gandhi also accused prime minister Modi, the BJP and RSS of starting “the politics of hatred” in the country. “They pit brother against brother. Will a family benefit when two brothers fight? What will happen to the country if brothers fight between themselves? It will be doomed. They call themselves patriots. What kind of patriots are they? “They are setting one brother against another, one language against another, one caste against another caste and one religion against another religion. And then they say they are patriots. You are the patriot of which country? You are not the patriot of this country,” the Congress leader said.

During his interaction with farmers, they told him that their loans are not waived but the ''billionaires'' get loan waivers, and farmers even do not get the Minimum Support Price, he said.

Under the crop insurance scheme, premiums are being paid by farmers, but they don't get their insurance money from insurance companies, he said.