Meerut: The “pain” being suffered by people due to demonetisation will cost BJP Uttar Pradesh in the upcoming Assembly polls, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Thursday, vowing to “expose” the ruling party in the Centre across the country.
Addressing a public meeting in Meerut, he said had the “intention” of the government been welfare of the people, it would have waived farm loans instead of writing off the debt of “friendly industrialists”.
Kejriwal’s over half-an-hour-long speech was punctuated by repeated exhortations to the crowd to spread the “real truth” behind the currency ban, which he described as a “conspiracy” and “scam” implemented to favour the corporates.
“Modiji could become the Prime Minister because of people of Uttar Pradesh, who gave 73 seats out of 80 to him in the general elections. Now it is your responsibility. Many people told me, they will avenge every minute they had to spend standing in queue due to demonetisation,” Kejriwal said.
The AAP chief urged people to show BJP “the door” when it comes seeking votes. Tell them to go looking for votes to “Ambani and Adani”, he said, adding that he was here to “save the country” and not for electoral gains.
“I will go around the country with these papers and will expose the BJP,” Kejriwal said, waving a set of documents containing allegations against the prime minister.
Kejriwal is scheduled to address a string of rallies across Uttar Pradesh, including one in Prime Minister’s home turf Varanasi, and a number of BJP-ruled states over the next few months.
Kejriwal dubbed the proposed changes in the Income Tax law, which were cleared by the Lok Sabha, as a “50-50 scheme”, the purpose of which was to “whitewash black money into white”.
“Few still believe that it will end black money in the long run. Villagers are pinning hopes on the fact that it may rein in the moneylenders. No one will be asked whether the money was earned through terror or any other means,” he said.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had on Wednesday termed Kejriwal’s take on the changes as “factually incorrect”.
“People who are standing in queues are all honest. Of the total amount amassed till now, not a single penny is black money,” he said.
“A few days ago, the PM made his mother stand in line for Rs 4,000. I was saddened. Shame on him for using his mother for a political stunt,” he said.
Kejriwal also questioned the spending in the weddings in the families of former Karnataka BJP Minister G Janardana Reddy and Union Minister Mahesh Sharma, wondering whether making arrangements for a marriage was possible within Rs 2.5 lakh.
PTI