Demonetization biggest failure, PM Modi should apologize: Congress

New Delhi [India], Sept 1 (ANI): The Congress party slammed the government over demonetization, terming the move as "the biggest failure" and added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should apologize to the people of India.

This came after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released data stating that 99 percent old Rs 500, Rs 1000 notes were returned to the banking system.

Speaking to ANI on the same, senior Congress leader Pramod Tiwari said that due to demonetisation, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has fallen drastically, and business has gone slow.

"I would just say that this BJP's experiment was a big failure. There can be just two things, either they helped people to convert black money into white and if that's true, then this is the biggest scam of the century. And if this was a failure, then the people of India had to bear the grunt of this, and hence Modi Government should apologize to the nation," Tiwari said.

Adding on to it, another senior Congress leader P.L. Punia said that the effect of demonetization is still going on.

"No one knows where the black money is, where has it gone," Punia told ANI.

Earlier, while speaking about the plunge in this year's first quarter of GDP, Congress vice president tweeted, "A colossal failure which cost innocent lives and ruined the economy. Will the PM own up?"

Congress leader and lawyer Kapil Sibal bashed the government and wrote, "Demonetisation gain for the rich, pain for the poor, cash back in system, exposed their wisdom, now this is our take, their promises fake."

Nearly 10 months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) came out with provisional figures on the count of old Rs 500, Rs 1000 notes that were returned to the banking system and shows that nearly all money has returned.

Although, an annual report by RBI released said, "Headwinds from the global slowdown and the transient impact of demonetisation notwithstanding, the Indian economy demonstrated resilience in 2016-17, marked by moderate expansion and macroeconomic stability - low inflation, and improvement in current account and fiscal deficits." (AN)

This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI