Patna:- Sharpening its protest against demonetisation, the RJD today said it would soon hit the streets against hardship caused to the people due to scrapping of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes by the Centre.
RJD President Lalu Prasad has called a meeting of the party leaders on December 17 to take feedback about people’s woes due to demonetisation on the basis of which the agitation programme would be decided, state party chief Ramchandra Purbe told reporters.
The meeting will be attended by ministers, legislators, MPs, former MPs and all office-bearers of the party, Purbe said.
RJD parliamentarians have been participating in the protest against demonetisation along with non-BJP parties in the two Houses.
The RJD decision to intensify its agitation against demonetisation is significant as JD(U) leader and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has supported the move saying it will help in the fight against black money.
While JD(U) supports demonetisation, its two allies – RJD and Congress – are agitating against it.
Both Congress and RJD had participated in the nationwide bandh against demonetisation on November 28 but JD(U) had kept itself out of the stir.
Similarly, RJD participated in the dharna held by Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee against demonetisation in Patna on November 30.
Though Lalu did not attend Banerjee’s dharna, he had sent party vice president Raghubansh Prasad Singh and state chief Purbe to the sit-in, in which Banerjee had called those supporting demonetisation as “gaddars” (traitors) which was construed as directed at Kumar.
With opposition BJP trying to use divergent stand of coalition partners on demonetisation to mount attack on the grand alliance ministry in the state, Kumar had clarified that the alliance is for the state and on subjects concerning it.
He had also said that on issues outside the state, “every party is privy to its own viewpoint… there is no confusion or fissures in coalition”.
PTI
