Demonetization was 'one-man made disaster' for country: DMK

"Indians stood in endless lines & many died outside banks, millions of jobs were lost, small industries shut & the economy hit irreversibly. #DestructionByDemonetisation is one man-made disaster for India," Stalin, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Tamil Nadu assembly, tweeted.

DMK Thursday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the second anniversary of demonetisation alleging it was a "one-man made disaster" for the country with the economy getting hit irreversibly. Ruling AIADMK, however, appeared to be guarded in its reaction, saying the people's verdict on demonetisation would be known only after the next year Lok Sabha elections. With ally Congress alleging note ban as the biggest scam, DMK president M K Stalin in a tweet said: "People were brought on streets with their money declared illegal.

"Indians stood in endless lines & many died outside banks, millions of jobs were lost, small industries shut & the economy hit irreversibly. #DestructionByDemonetisation is one man-made disaster for India," Stalin, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Tamil Nadu assembly, tweeted. Senior AIADMK leader and Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar said whether the people have accepted demonetisation or not will be known only after the Lok Sabha election is held next year.

"Be it demonetisation or any other reform, whether such initiatives can be accepted or not lies with the people and only they decide," he told reporters here when asked for his views on demonetisation. Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam leader TTV Dhinakaran claimed that it was "getting proven every day" that the demonetisation drive was not poised for growth and it affected both the haves and have-nots. Dubbing the note-ban as a failure, he alleged: "it was like another atom bomb that pushed the economy to the abyss."

General Secretary of Tamil Nadu chapter of Bank Employees Federation of India C P Krishnan alleged that the note ban was a failure and asked the government to "openly accept" it. He demanded the government compensate families for "loss of lives," due to the note-ban. As opposition parties targeted it on the second anniversary of the exercise, the central government has strongly defended its action. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said demonetisation resulted in the formalisation of the economy and increased tax base, prompting the government to earmark more resources for the poor and infrastructure development.