Cong workers try to gherao RBI office over note ban, stopped

The Haryana and Chandigarh units of Congress today held a protest near the RBI's regional office here against the central bank's "failure to carry out its constitutional duty at the time of demonetisation", but were stopped by police when they tried to gherao the building.

Led by Congress' senior leader Rajiv Shukla, the party's Haryana unit chief Ashok Tanwar, former Union Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, party leaders Viplove Thakur and Pradeep Chhabra took part in the protest.

They accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "derailing" the country's growth by his demonetisation move and alleged that the Reserve Bank of India falied to "carry out its constitutional duty".
 

Addressing Congress workers who had assembled close to the RBI building complex at Sector 17 here, Shukla said, "Industry, trade and agriculture have been hit due to the government's decision."

"A large number of people have been rendered unemployed due to demonetisation. RBI also failed to do its constitutional duty," he alleged.

Rajya Sabha MP and senior Congress leader Viplove Thakur equated demonetisation to imposing "financial emergency" in the country.

"The RBI has failed to do its constitutional duty at the time of demonetisation, due to which people had to suffer a lot. The misery of the people has not ended. They are still suffering," Tanwar alleged.

Pawan Kumar Bansal said, "We decided to gherao the RBI because it has failed to do its constitutional duty and has happily surrendered its autonomy."

Notably, while Viplove Thakur, who had recently said all Congress MLAs in Haryana have been asked to join today's protest, only four MLAs of the 17 turned up, with former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda also being absent.

Police had set up barricades near the RBI building complex to stop Congress leaders and party workers from marching towards the office. When some Congress workers tried to jump it, they were stopped by police who used water canons on them. Later, the Congress workers dispersed from the spot.