PM
To Meet Top Ministers As Opposition Preps For Notes Ban Attack: 10 Points
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet senior ministers
this morning as the parliament meets for the winter session from today. Most
have opted out of Mamata Banerjee's march today, but opposition parties will
unite in their attack on the government over the currency ban.
- 1. At a meeting of all parties on Tuesday evening, PM Modi sought the support of the opposition in his "crusade" against black or untaxed money and said parties need to work together to change people's perception of politicians, even suggesting that they debate state funding of elections for more transparency in public life.
- 2. Just before that meeting opposition leaders from the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal-United, the Left and others met and decided to oppose the way the government banned 500 and 1,000 rupee notes last week and its impact on people. Several parties have in notices sought that all other work be suspended as parliament opens to urgently discuss the issue.
- 3. The Congress's Ghulam Nabi Azad said his party is not demanding a rollback of the demonetisation, but is "against the economic chaos inflicted by this hasty, unprepared move." He alleged that the decision to abolish the big currency notes was leaked in advance to some people, including BJP leaders, calling it a "currency scam".
- 4. The opposition plans to demand that a Joint Parliamentary Committee or JPC be set up to inquire into the demonetisation. The Congress and others believe they should first debate the issue in parliament and not exhaust the option of escalating the matter to the President just yet.
- 5. But West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress wants a rollback and has decided to carry on with the march she has planned at noon today from parliament to Rashtrapati Bhawan to petition the President that the demonetisation be withdrawn.
- 6. Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party and the National Conference of Omar Abdullah are the only two opposition parties that will join the Trinamool march. Neither has a significant presence in Parliament.
- 7. But in embarrassment for the government, the Shiv Sena, a partner in the ruling National Democratic Alliance or NDA has pledged to join the march to the president "under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee".
- 8. In parliament, the opposition has lined up several other issues to attack the government on this session, including the surgical strikes last month across the Line of Control, the unrest in Jammu and Kashmir, One Rank One Pension or OROP and the plight of farmers.
- 9. PM Modi has said the government is willing to discuss all issues and answer questions raised by the opposition. He said he hoped for a fruitful session, recalling the passage of the landmark Goods and Services Tax or GST Bill in the last session with the cooperation of all parties.
- 10. Passing two bills related to GST is the number 1 priority of the government in this session, for which it needs the support of opposition parties, especially in the Rajya Sabha or Upper House where it is in a minority.
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