Congress, Swamy spar ahead of demonetisation anniversary

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Monday mocked the Congress over observing 'black day' on November 8 to mark the completion of one year of demonetisation, and asked the opposition to suggest for an alternative to eliminate the black money, instead.

Swamy, not paying much attention to the scheduled demonstration, said, "It is an opposition party. It can observe the day as it wants; we have no objection, but the question to them is how else black money can be eliminated."

"The Congress can donate all the black money they have and bring back lakhs of crores of money. They can set a good example through this," he added.

The Congress has said it would observe a 'black day' on November 8 to mark the completion of one year of demonetisation, alleging that the BJP-led government's move foisted misery on people and disrupted the economy.

On November 8 last year, the BJP Government announced the demonetisation, commonly called 'notebandi', of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 banknotes, claiming it was a crack down on the use of illicit and counterfeit cash to fund illegal activities and terrorism.

A nationwide protest will be observed in a bid to highlight the alleged failure of demonetisation.

The Congress is reportedly going to seek the support of other opposition parties to become part of their protest.