BJP president Amit Shah on Friday asserted that rival parties have exposed themselves and shown their true face by criticising the Centre’s demonetisation move which, he said, has rattled those with black money and fake currency, and made some political parties poor as well.
Taking a swipe at his rivals, the BJP chief said he would like to ask the Congress, the SP, the BSP and the AAP as to why they are so pained.
Mr. Shah said while he understood dealers of black money, fake currency, hawala and drugs rattled, what he cannot fathom was why leaders like Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mayawati and Arvind Kejriwal are joining the list of such people.
Even though he insisted that the government’s move had nothing to do with the impending Assembly polls, he said the BJP would benefit politically going by the reactions of Opposition parties.
Mr. Shah skipped any mention of TMC chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who was the first leader to take on the government on the issue. He named her in his reply to a question.
He challenged political parties to face the polls with the issue and said “People will decide.”
These political parties always questioned the Modi government for what it was doing against black money and now it has given such a hard blow to black money, they are rattled, he said.
To a poser that these parties have claimed to have voiced concerns of the poor, he said the demonetisation move would do no harm to the poor. “But some political parties have become poor.”
Asked about Ms. Mayawati’s charge the move amounted to “economic emergency”, he said it has caused economic emergency in her party.
(With inputs from PTI)
