This is a replug of the original article we published in month of November Last Year when PM Modi announced his historic demonetisation decision.
Mamata Banerjee has been one of the most vocal critics of PM Modi’s Demonetization move. She was the very first popular leader of the country to tweet against Demonetization, urging Modi Government to Withdraw in capital letters.
WITHDRAW THIS DRACONIAN DECISION
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) November 8, 2016
Mamata Banerjee has since been at the forefront of the war against the war against black money. She has been relentlessly tweeting against demonetization. Like most of the opposition leaders, she has been firing from behind the safe wall of “Poor and lower middle class miseries”.
In fact such is her anxiety that her Twitter timeline simply looks like the running commentary of every single development associated with demonetization.
… Black money hoarders and the corrupt need to be punished, but why put the burden on commoners and the poor. 3/3
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) November 9, 2016
I have penned a poem on the #DeMonetisation issue pic.twitter.com/V7Rnhpyii6
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) November 12, 2016
How will they use this one 2000 note for all daily needs ? Total chaos, anger. Students, housewives, traders, senior citizens … 2/5
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) November 12, 2016
Let us all fight this together to give relief to common citizens, the poor and stop this financial anarchy 4/4
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) November 13, 2016
Everybody can understand the angry reactions of Arvind Kejriwal who needs no demonetization episode to attack Modi, or Mayawati who now has an additional responsibility of refurbishing her party’s finances as it goes to elections next year.
But why is Mamata Banerjee so furious about demonetization? She just won an election by humbling the Left once again in West Bengal and stopping the juggernaut of a resurgent BJP in 2014 General Elections.
Now let us look at these numbers:
- Raiganj cooperative bank in Raiganj, West Bengal registered a cash deposit of Rs. 58 crore 21 lakh — in the first four days post November 8, the day when PM Modi announced the invalidation of 1000 and 500 bills.
- Hooghly district cooperative bank received cash deposits of Rs 124 crore
- Cooperative bank in Nadia got cash deposits of Rs 150 crore
- Midnapore Vidyasagar cooperative Bank received cash deposits of Rs 55 crore
- Malda Cooperative Bank received cash deposits worth Rs. 100 crore
- Cooperative Banks at Burdwan, Howrah and East Midnapore jointly accounted for about Rs 100 crore.
- Till November 13 about Rs 1,000 crore were deposited in the 300 branches of 17 central cooperative banks.
All of these numbers have been sourced from this report published in The Pioneer
It must be noted that cooperative banks are small-sized banking units systematized in the co-operative sector which operate mostly in non-urban centers. These banks generally provide loans to small borrowers, artisans, peasants and businesses like agricultural based activities including farming, cattle, milk, hatchery, personal finance, etc. And hence the deposits in these banks are not of such gargantuan proportions.
The abnormal accumulation of old currency notes in cooperative banks especially in the first few days after Demonetization enforcement hence raise some reasonable doubts which prompted the opposition to link it with the chit fund and palm-greasing account. CPI (M)’s Mohammad Salim said “his party would soon write to the RBI to investigate how so much of money could be deposited in these banks,” alleging most of the money were linked to Trinamool Congress ill-gotten earnings.
If the reports are indeed true, Mamata Banerjee’s crusade against Demonetization under the garb of “inconvenience” and “Poor and Middle class miseries” stands exposed. And it explains why Mamata Banerjee is so upset about demonetization.
