Modi rejects opposition demand for demonetisation rollback

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday rejected the opposition's demand to roll back the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes, saying the country has welcomed the move, informed sources said.

Modi's stand came at a meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Party's executive, sources said.

The Prime Minister told the participants that the "country has welcomed" the move but the "opposition is trying to sabotage" it, the sources added.

Sources also said that Modi told party colleagues that the government need not buckle under the opposition pressure.

Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu clearly said that mood of the nation is in favour of the decision.

"No question of rethinking," he told reporters after a meeting of leaders of the BJP and its allies in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which followed the BJP Parliamentary Party executive meeting.

Naidu said that all the NDA constituents termed the demonetisation decision as historic and in larger interest of the nation.

"NDA leaders said the people are happy and government should go ahead with the decision," he said.

Naidu also said that the Prime Minister told the NDA leaders that the credit for demonetisation will not go to him personally, but to all parties which stood firmly with the government.

Naidu also termed as baselss the opposition's allegations that the BJP had prior information regarding the demonetisation move.

"All these are baseless. We will answer them at appropriate time. In the parliament, we will get to know who stood by people and who are on the side of black money hoarders," he said.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said that all the NDA partners and the leaders supported Prime Minister Modi in one voice. They also praised visionary decision which is also "pro-poor".

"They also, in one voice, requested the Prime Minister to take the crusade against black money to its logical end," he said.

NDA ally Shiv Sena, which earlier opposed the move, supported the government during the meeting. Sena leader Anand Rao Adsul attended the meet.

Terming the demonetisation as "a betrayal" of the people, the Shiv Sena had compared the government's secret mission of November 8 to an "economic civil war", and said Modi had already dropped one bomb by the demonetisation.

The BJP Parliamentary Party meeting was attended among others by party President Amit Shah, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Ananth Kumar while NDA meet was attended by all allies.

The meetings were convened to chalk out the government's strategy for the winter session of Parliament, starting on Wednesday.

The Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and the Trinamool Congress have demanded rollback of the demonetisation decision.

--IANS

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