Some in opposition not able to digest Narendra Modi's popularity: M Venkaiah Naidu

Bengaluru: Terming the demonetisation move as a “war” on corruption and black money, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday said some people are opposing it because of their inability to digest Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity. He hit out at the opposition for not allowing Parliament to function and ruled out any possibility of a rollback of demonetisation. “Different parties are taking different stands. I’m happy that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and others have come out in support of this decision, but some people are not able to digest it,” Naidu said. Speaking at an event organised by BJP, he said, “They have this indigestion problem from beginning itself. From day one you (people) gave the mandate to Modi… They are not able to digest it.” [caption id=“attachment_2932664” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Venkaiah Naidu. CNN-News18[/caption] Naidu said some people are not able to accept Modi as Prime Minister and his growing popularity and started the “drama” of award wapsi. “Intolerant are those people who are intolerant towards the victory of Modi. They are not able to digest it. That is why on Thursday they compared Modi to Hitler, Mussolini and Gaddafi. Look at their anger because he defeated them, brought out what is beneath their bed,” he said. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee and her Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal were opposing demonetisation just for the sake of politics, the Union minister said. He listed prominent economists, personalities and international organisations who have spoken in favour of the move and said those trying to create confusion among people “will be disappointed after a week or so”. “They will be disappointed because there are queues and queues are shown by TVs, the moment these queues disappear, these people will also disappear,” he added. On disruption of Parliament over demonetisation, Naidu said the opposition, which started the discussion on the issue in Rajya Sabha, is now trying to shy away after coming to know that they are in a fix as their arguments are proving to be hollow. “It is like after marriage one is complaining about problems with stars or zodiac sign,” he said. Modi has come before the country with a massive social mobilisation which impacts every countryman’s life for a better tomorrow. At this juncture, every political party has to choose whether they are with the people’s and government decision against black marketers, hoarders, arms smugglers and those running counterfeit, he said. “There is no question of a rollback at any cost. Narendra Modi is the last man… he will never go back on his decision,” Naidu said. “He (PM) is ready to take suggestions. We expected Parliament to function smoothly and (opposition to) give ideas, suggestions for improvement with regard to problems faced by people, but they have disappointed us,” he said. Naidu said the government has taken the decision of demonetisation, keeping the national interest in mind and it is a “war” on corruption and black money. “It is a war on corruption and black money. I know that I’m using the word, I know the meaning also,” he said. The Union minister said that in India, black money has become the biggest menace because there is almost a parallel economy in the country. “This is a war because our neighbour Pakistan is aiding, abetting, funding and training terrorists. They want to cripple the economy of India. They want to subvert the system. That is why they are printing counterfeit notes and circulating them in the country, causing a huge loss to the country,” he said. The Centre did not want to harass any party or section. It was also not done keeping the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls in mind, Naidu said. He said the biggest beneficiary of this programme will be the poor, middle class and honest taxpayers of India.