On the last day of the washed-out Parliament session, Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad was invited to a BJP function to talk about demonetisation. He took out a card reader from his pocket, fixed it to his smartphone and waxed eloquent on the ease of anyone, even a small-time trader, making a shift to digital payments. “Demonetisation problems are like pain suffered by a woman during childbirth. It turns to joy later on,” he said.
There has, however, been no joy in sight yet, even as the 50-day period to exchange old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes draws to a close. The distress calls from people across the country have the BJP worried, what with the elections in five states—Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur—most likely to be held in January. The continued shortage of currency, even after the December 30 deadline, could spell trouble for the party in the election states.
BJP chief Amit Shah has been meeting party MPs, especially from Uttar Pradesh, to get their feedback. “Most MPs said support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi continued, but the [demonetisation] implementation was causing problems to the people,” said a BJP general secretary.
Modi, who was scheduled to hold a mega rally in Lucknow on December 24 on the culmination of four parivartan yatras, will now speak on January 2, after the demonetisation drive is over. The saffron party is aiming for a big show of strength to counter the perception that people were against the demonetisation decision. The party’s recent victories in the municipal polls in Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Chandigarh are also being promoted as people’s support to the move.
The RSS, too, has been watching the disarray in implementation with concern. Its frontal bodies like Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh and Swadeshi Jagaran Manch had initially expressed scepticism. “I have been touring many states, the problems faced by many people have started easing,” said BMS chief Baijnath Rai. “We had told the government about the problems, they took some corrective steps.” Ashwani Mahajan, the convener of SJM, had raised concerns over Paytm’s links with Chinese companies and doubts over data theft. Mahajan said the government, while supporting the shift to digital payment platforms, should not give way to multinational firms to make money.
The BJP is pinning its hope on favourable announcements during the budget session of Parliament that would give succour to its core base of traders, businessmen and the middle class. Also, sops for farmers are likely to be announced during elections in the agrarian states of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.
