A special Kerala assembly session convened today to discuss problems faced by the people and the cooperative sector after demonetisation, passed a resolution asking the Centre to allow cooperatives to exchange old notes and accept deposits like commercial banks.
Ruling CPI(M) led LDF and Congress headed UDF Opposition joined hands to pass the resolution and attacked the Centre's decision to demonetise Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes, which they said caused severe hardship to the common man and brought the functioning of cooperative sector to a standstill.
The lone BJP member, O Rajagopal, expressed dissent to the resolution and said the decision to demonetise was with a view to "cleanse the economy and root out corruption, black money and to provide a boost to development in the country".
On issues related to the cooperative sector, he said the state government should take steps to present the facts before the Centre to find a remedy. "The Union government and BJP are not against the cooperative sector", he said.
LDF and UDF members attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the demonetisation decision and said it had caused "untold sufferings to people" and brought the economic activities in urban and rural areas to almost to a halt.
They alleged that Modi was trying to impose "financial fascism" in the country.
Both Fronts also wanted a strong public movement about politics in the state to save and protect cooperatives if the Centre continued to refuse the state's request.
Introducing the resolution, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the situation had reached such an extent that it might even "lead to riots" in the country, as feared by the Supreme Court.
He said an all-party delegation from Kerala would meet Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitely on November 24 to bring to their notice the crisis faced by the cooperative sector.
The resolution said the cooperative sector in Kerala had total deposits of Rs 1.27 lakh crores with a customer base of 3.51 crore. The sector has also provided loans to the tune of Rs one lakh crore.
Referring to the recent suicides of two persons due to
apprehensions about their money deposited with cooperative banks, Vijayan said account holders in these banks did not have to worry about their funds and that "government gives guarantee that their deposit is safe".
He brushed aside the BJP state leaders charge that the cooperative sector has been used for money laundering and was a hub of black money hoarders.
The Chief Minister maintained that discriminatory treatment to cooperatives was part of a "grand agenda" to destroy these sectors under the cover of demonetisation. "The RBI has also become a part of it", he added.
Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said demonetisation was done without any proper groundwork and said the Centre has committed "criminal negligence" in this respect.
Minister for Cooperation A C Moideen, Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac,Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala, IUML leader and former State Minister P K Kunhalikutty, KC(M) leader and former Finance Minister K M Mani and veteran CPI(M) leader V S Achuthanandan were among those who participated in the four hour long debate.
