Oppn splits wide open over demonetisation, CPI(M) terms decision to meet president `futile`

Opposition leaders had sought a meeting with President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday.

New Delhi: New Delhi: CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury on Friday defended his party's decision to keep away from the meeting of Opposition parties with President Pranab Mukherjee and said they should have rather gone to the public with the issue.

"We had asked earlier, what would the President do on the issue? There is no use of approaching the President in this matter, he is also part of Parliament," said Yechury.

Describing the meeting with the President as "not a good idea", he said the opposition should rather go to the public.

Stating that the common and farmers are facing lots of trouble on demonetisation, Yechury said "till the same amount of old currency demonetised from the economy does not get replaced with the new one, the government should allow it to be used in legal transaction".

The Congress, which on Friday took the demonetisation war to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, accused the government of breaking all morals of democracy while holding the ruling dispensation responsible for disrupting the winter session proceedings of Parliament.

"They broke all the morals of democracy. The government is entirely responsible for this. We presented a memorandum to the President of India. We told the President that we wanted a discussion on demonetisation in Parliament on the problems faced by farmers, small traders etc., but the government did not allow. 

We tried our best so that the demonetisation issue is discussed in the adjournment motion," Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge told the media.

Kharge said the opposition wanted discussion in any form so as to tell the government about the nation`s plight due to the demonetisation move.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi led a considerably whittled down opposition delegation to meet President Pranab Mukherjee over the government`s decision to ban 500 and 1,000 rupee notes and its impact on the people.

The Trinamool Congress, Janata Dal (United) and RJD also joined the grand old party in lodging a formal protest over the government`s demonetisation drive to President Mukherjee.