india

Updated: Nov 08, 2019 12:33 IST

The Youth Congress protested outside the Reserve Bank of India in Delhi to protest government’s three-year-old move to demonetise currency of higher denominations, blaming it for the following slowdown in the economy.

The government had invalidated Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes worth Rs 15.44 lakh crore on November 8 in 2016 and said crackdown on black money was one of its main objectives. Its political opponents have maintained that the move was aimed to benefit a few industrialists and resulted in massive job losses in the informal sector.

The protest by the youth wing is in line with the ongoing 10-day nationwide agitation by its parent body, the Congress, over economic issues including demonetization.

The Congress will also hold a joint rally with other opposition parties at the Ramlila grounds on December 1 in the national capital.

“The protest is to seek an apology from the Modi government for ruining and wrecking the Indian economy. Even three years later, it remains a mystery, why the country was pushed into such a disaster,” Youth Congress president Srinivas BV said.

The government has rejected such criticism in the past and said the economic downturn was mostly due to global factors.

Youth Congress spokesperson Amrish Ranjan Pandey claimed that over 100 lives were lost due to demonetisation.

“Families of over 100 people who died because of demonetization are still awaiting justice,” Pandey said.

The Youth Congress also plans to protest against the government and the RBI over the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) bank scam, which it says, has led to a “trust deficit in the banking system”.