Mahagathbandhan to observe Nov 8 as 'Black Day' in Bihar: Sharad Yadav

The Mahagathbandhan or the conglomerate of non-BJP secular parties will observe November 8, the first anniversary of demonetisation, as "Black Day" in every district in Bihar, Janata Dal United (JD-U) leader Sharad Yadav announced on Wednesday.

On November 8 last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes with a stated objective of curbing black money and corruption.

"The steps of demonetisation and GST implementation have hit the economy so hard it will perhaps take at least 10 years for the economy to recover.

"The government is trying to take certificates of economy doing well from the World Bank and several foreign rating agencies. But we are witnessing the reality in our country. The reality is that the economy and employment have been destroyed," Sharad Yadav said, referring to a report saying that India has climbed 30 notches up in ease of doing business.

"The reality is that despite imported food grain, people are dying of hunger in this country. The farmers are distressed as they are unable to recover even their costs from their crops. They are committing suicide. The reality is that lakhs of people have been rendered unemployed," he added.

Accusing the Narendra Modi government of going back on its election promises vis-a-vis employment generation, agriculture and farmers's issues, Sharad Yadav said that the government was "doing everything except what it promised".

"From love jihad to 'ghar wapsi' and from Taj Mahal to Tipu Sultan, every other day they find a topic to divide the society along communal lines. They want to hide their failures by such tactics," he said.

On the Gujarat assembly elections, he said that his party will support the Congress.

"Recently, the acting President of our party Chhotubhai Vasava met Rahul Gandhi and discussed issues related to Gujarat elections," Yadav said.

A dispute over the JD-U's "Arrow" symbol is going on between Nitish Kumar and Sharad Yadav factions of the party. The matter is being heard by the Election Commission.

--IANS

mak/vd