The Bank Employees Federation of India (Kerala unit) has decided to hold a protest demonstration on Tuesday, against the central government’s demonetisation scheme and the subsequent misery it has caused the people of the country.
The employees will hold a demonstration outside the regional office of RBI on Tuesday evening, said office-bearers of the federation.
According to them, the capacity of the four printing presses in the country is limited and they will take at least six months to print the amount of required currency. They maintain that the “pain of demonetisation” will be longer, more than the 50 days Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned about.
Speaking to The News Minute, BEFI’s national president CJ Nandakumar said that the protest will not be held during the banking hours, as “demonetisation had already caused inconvenience to the people.”
According to him, such a protest coming from the bank employees themselves will hold more credibility than the criticisms that come from the general public.
“Not only was demonetisation a gimmick by the Centre, aiming at the many state assembly elections to be held in the coming months, but their argument that it is to curb black money is not valid. Ever since demonetisation was announced, the banks have not been able to sanction any loans, including agriculture loans. Every sector has been affected by this move,” he added.
The protest is also directed at the central government's decision to ban district cooperative banks from accepting and exchanging the devalued currency.
Similar demonstrations have been planned in all the states and will be held in the coming days, Nandakumar said.