Amarinder terms demonetisation 'massive farce', slams BJP

Terming demonetisation a "massive farce", Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh today claimed that BJP chief Amit Shah's "cheap and despicable attacks" against Rahul Gandhi and Manmohan Singh showed the party's "desperation" ahead of the state polls.
Reacting to Shah's comments at a rally here, he alleged the BJP president has "stooped" to a "shameless low in his frustrated attempts to woo" the voters of Punjab, who, however, could see through his "vile ploy".
Addressing BJP's booth workers here, Shah had launched a shrill attack on opposition parties, saying they were climbing "the same tree like rats, cats and snakes" to escape the demonetisation "flood".

The BJP president especially targeted Rahul Gandhi for opposing demonetisation, saying he is not surprised by the reaction of the Congress vice president as his party's rule during UPA I and II was "synonymous with scams".
"How can he demean an eminent economist like Manmohan Singh in Punjab, which is, like the rest of the country, reeling under the adverse impact of Narendra Modi-led BJP government's demonetisation scheme?" Amarinder asked.
The state Congress chief claimed the demonetisation move has put people under extreme "hardships" as 86 per cent of their money has been taken out of the market.

The poor farmers are the "worst hit" as a result of RBI's decision of not allowing cooperative banks to exchange demonetised notes, Amarinder claimed.

Alleging that BJP is "hell-bent" on sustaining "war hysteria" in Punjab's border areas with an eye on the upcoming Assembly polls, he said Shah is making "political capital" out of the surgical strike by the Army on terrorist launch pads across the LoC on the intervening night of September 28 and 29 for "vested interests".
Such operations are carried out by the Army, from time to time, since long. These were earlier termed as raids across the border. But the BJP-led Centre is seeking to politicise the issue by describing such actions as surgical strikes, Amarinder claimed.
On Shah's claim that Indian soldiers were killed and beheaded at the border during the UPA rule but now it is the other way around, he asked the BJP chief to get his facts right.

"Recent weeks have witnessed several incidents of inhumane attacks on Indian soldiers from across the border, which BJP seems disinterested in acknowledging for its own interest," he alleged.
"Shah has been repeatedly undermining the courage and capabilities of the Indian Army with his shamelessly frivolous statements that are clearly aimed at creating war hysteria and fanning passions ahead of the state polls," Amarinder alleged.
Warning Shah and other BJP leaders against "exploiting" the Army to promote their "politically-motivated" interests, he said these kinds of statements can be "detrimental" to the interests of the defence forces and in turn that of the nation's.