Demonetisation biggest scam of the century: Anand Sharma

Terming demonetisation as the biggest scam of the century, Congress leader Anand Sharma on May 2 said people of the country were "cheated" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who made "false" promises to them.

"Modi is the first PM in whose tenure black money was used openly and he says that there is no corruption in his governance. The biggest scam of the century is demonetisation," Sharma said at a press conference here.

If the Congress comes to power at the Centre, a judicial probe commission will be set up, accountability will be fixed and people responsible for noteban will be punished, he added.

Due to demonetisation, the former commerce minister said, the economy suffered and the country's GDP reduced by 2 per cent while 86 per cent of the money in circulation in the markets disappeared.

As a result, lakhs of businesses got finished and for 43 days, 11 crore people lined-up outside banks and ATMs everyday, he said.

"The PM is insensitive and he should apologise to people for calling their hard earned money as black money," he alleged.

The Congress leader further said that people of the country were "lured" by Modi's false promises of 'achhe din' (good days), providing two crore jobs, increasing crop prices and smart cities.

"The PM cheated the voters and now when people are demanding answers, he is not willing to discuss anything. If he is an honest person, he should apologise for not fulfilling the promises," he said.

The Congress also accused Modi of spending huge sums of money on the 2014 election campaign and wondered what was the source of funding.

Sharma said Modi used "bitter words" for his opponents while campaigning for the last general elections and the situation has got worse now.

"The PM works with animosity and uses bitter words. He left no stone unturned to damage the Reserve Bank while four judges had to come out on the roads for the first time to seek help under his rule," he said.

"The CBI, ED and Income tax departments are being misused, specially against the Opposition," he added.

Questioning the election campaign of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the ongoing Lok Sabha polls, Sharma said instead of replying to questions, the prime minister is playing with the sentiments of the people.

"The PM is seeking votes in the name of soldiers killed in Pulwama, but how did they get killed? In 2014, he had stated that the country's security will be strengthened but it has deteriorated," he said, claiming that terror attacks have increased under Modi.

Modi's ouster is necessary as the democracy and the Constitution are in danger, he said.