KOLKATA: The raging political angst against the Centre’s demonetiosation policy hit Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel when Congress workers armed with black flags heckled the chief of the country’s monetary policymaking authority outside the Kolkata airport on Thursday.Patel was returning to Mumbai after attending RBI’s 562nd central board meet in Kolkata.It was not a business usual for Governor Patel. For the first time after taking over the reins at RBI, he faced a barrage of protests through the entire day cutting across party lines as the anti-BJP forces raised pitch against demonetisation , which has left the country currency starved.Drama unfolded in the morning itself, when the RBI chief had to take a backdoor entry to avoid media and a large political crowd waiting outside RBI buildings as he stepped in to meet the central board, which review the macro-economy.Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee , who has been spearheading a national movement against the government policy, had her members of the Legislative Assembly staging protests against Patel through the afternoon in front of the iconic RBI building in the city. Later in the day, Patel met Banerjee, where the Trinamool Congress chief raised her concerns over people’s sufferings and job losses triggered by the November 8 decision of the Narendra Modi government.“I have expressed my concerns over people's sufferings. The unorganised sector suffered the most. Poeple are losing their jobs and facing starvation. There is a severe shortage of Rs 500 currency notes. He had no answer to my points,” Banerjee told the media after her first meeting with any RBI governor since 2012.“The RBI is an autonomous body. It should not be used politically.”Banerjee had been vocal in criticising the RBI governor for failing to address the currency shortage issue. “I have told him to publish the currency supply data to each state so that we come know whether there is parity on currency note supply,” she said, pointing out that West Bengal has been one of the worst hit states in so far as currency supply goes.The Left Front was not far behind in protest against the RBI. It staged a protest rally outside the RBI office, when the governor was holding the meet. The RBI central board meets every quarter in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata and in other capital cities by rotation.“The RBI has lost its independence under the Narendra Modi regime. All decisions are being taken and executed by the PMO,” Left Front Chairman Biman Bose said.“We are not demanding a rollback, rather we want the time limit for the exchange of old notes be extended,” former finance minister Asim Dasgupta of CPM said.The governor did not brief the media after the central board meet, making a deviation of practice followed by his predecessors.The RBI later announced through its website that the board reviewed the current economic situation, global and domestic challenges and other specific areas of RBI operations.