Indian PM seeks support of perturbed citizens
“This is not an end. I have more projects in mind to make India corruption free. Cooperate with me and help me for 50 days and I will give you the India you desire.”
As India is in a state of turmoil after demonetisation of INR 500 and INR 1000 currency bills in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the citizens from Goa asking people for their support and to give him some time to settle the chaos.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s sudden announcement to abolish old currency notes of INR 500 and INR 1000 overnight and issue new notes of INR 500 and INR 2000, to resolve the issue of black money in India, came as a shocker for the nation.
Demonetisation of the old currency has left people at dismay as ATMs are witnessing long queues and the decision is taking a toll on small and medium businessmen, farmers, homemakers and the rural population, who trade their day-to-day necessities in cash.
People argue that rather than affecting the big players, the decision is taking hold of the common people, as a lot of black money will most probably still exist in the form of gold, foreign exchange and stock market shares. Apart from this, many people with black money are now investing in gold, diamonds and silver, as it remains a safe refuge for them.
Assuring a change
Addressing the nation on Sunday, Narendra Modi assured the people that there is no need to panic or rush as banks would cooperate and they have time until the end of 2016 to deposit cash in accounts and change the high-value notes withdrawn.
He requested that the people must cooperate with the government in this mass drive. “This is not an end. I have more projects in mind to make India corruption free. Cooperate with me and help me for 50 days and I will give you the India you desire.”
“I know that forces are up against me, they may not let me live, they may ruin me because their loot of 70 years is in trouble, but I am prepared,” he added.
Modi also prompted that this was not a unilateral decision that he imposed on people. “I am doing what I was asked to do by the people of this country and it had become clear from the very first meeting of my cabinet when I formed the Special Investigation Team (SIT). We never kept the people in dark.”
Demonetisation of high value currencies is not the first step the government took in a bid to wipe corruption. It started with the announcement that it is mandatory for every citizen to have a bank account and creating Jan Dhan accounts and linking them to Aadhar Cards (unique identification number issued by the Indian government to every individual resident of India).
“I was not born to sit on a chair of high office. Whatever I had, my family, my home, I left it for nation. Why do we have to put the future of our youths at stake? Those who want to do politics are free to do so. I also feel the pain. These steps taken were not a display of arrogance. I have seen poverty and understand people’s problems,” he exclaimed.
Some see it as Modi’s move to grasp majority votes in the legislative assembly elections of 2017 in Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, by making the voters believe that he is the right candidate and is working hard to eradicate corruption. But, witnessing the reactions of people on his move, the possibility of it backfiring can’t be ruled out yet.
