Demonetisation: Congress to picket Central govt offices on Monday

Thiruvananthapuram: As part of intensifying its agitation against the demonetisation policy of the Centre, opposition Congress in the State will picket Central government offices in the state on December 5.

Announcing the party's protest plan, KPCC president V M Sudheeran Saturday said people from all walks of life including farmers, vendors, labourers, government employees and pensioners were suffering due to the withdrawing of high denomination currencies of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500.

"The Centre is doing nothing to resolve the present crisis. It has triggered wide protest among people across the country. There had been no instance in independent India that the government itself was pushing people into such a misery," Sudheeran said here in a statement.

"As part of our agitation against the Centre, which failed in addressing people's concerns, Congress workers will picket select government offices in the state on December five," he said.

He also alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetisation policy was for "political gains and it had ruined the life of commoners."

Meanwhile, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala accused the CPI(M)-led LDF government for not taking "adequate precautionary measures" to avoid the cash crunch in treasuries, where people had to wait in queues for many hours in the last two days to get their pension and salaries.

"The states like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have taken enough steps to avoid crisis during the distribution of salary. But, our state government failed in this," he told reporters here.

Taking a dig at state Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac, who visited some treasures here to take stock of the situation, Chennithala said he should stop his "road show" in treasuries.

The leader also urged the state government to announce a relief package to resolve the present crisis.