Guwahati: The Congress on Sunday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the 2016 demonetisation decision, saying it had damaged the economy, while accusing the government of undermining democratic institutions through what it termed “votebandi”.
Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh made the remarks while sharing a media report describing demonetisation as a disaster in 2016 and a failure a decade later.
“Notebandi devastated the economy. Votebandi is destroying the polity. Both are the contributions of the PM,” Ramesh said in a post on social media.
On November 8, 2016, Modi addressed the nation and announced the demonetisation of high-value currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000.
The Congress has repeatedly criticised the decision on its anniversaries, describing it as a “reckless” move that damaged the Indian economy. The party has also accused the government of failing to achieve the objectives originally cited to justify demonetisation.
The opposition party has previously termed the decision a “monumental blunder”, arguing that the government repeatedly changed the stated objectives of the exercise without achieving them.