Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Congress on Friday staged demonstration in front of RBI's regional office in Bhubaneswar as a part of its nation-wide protest on the occasion of second anniversary of demonetisation.
The Congress alleged that demonetisation has extensively damaged the economy of the country. The move by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has only helped the BJP supporters to convert their accumulated black money into white. Besides, many small and medium traders have incurred huge losses in the process and lost their jobs, Congress further alleged.
"Out of 15.44 lakh crore notes in circulation, 15.31 lakh crore notes were deposited in the banks. So where did the black money go?" questioned OPCC chief Niranjan Patnaik.
"There was a loss of 1.5% of GDP which amounts to Rs 2.25 lakh crores per annum. So, I want to ask, if the country was benefitted or had to suffer losses. These are definitely not 'acche din', rather 'bure din," stated Patnaik.
Besides, the local units of Congress in Berhampur and Cuttack observed 'Black Day' to oppose demonetisation.
The Congress members in Ganjam also submitted a memorandum addressed to the President of India through the RDC (South).
On the other hand, BJP refuted the allegations saying that the move had benefitted the country and resulted in increased tax collection.
"India was hugely benefitted because of demonetisation. The income tax returns have doubled and increased to more than 25 per cent in two years. There was a steep increase in collection of taxes and investigations are being carried out against 3 lakh companies which tried to convert their black money into white," informed BJP's Odisha-in-charge Arun Singh.